The Ring that Binds Thee
by kanna-chan94
Summary: Sailor Pluto sends Sailors Saturn and Mini Moon on a mission to another dimension. However, when she screws up the time/space continuum by sending them to the wrong dimension, how will things turn out?
1. Into the Time Gate

**A/N: So...I was inspired to do this because there aren't a lot of Sailor Moon and Lord of the Rings crossovers, and there's only 1 that hasn't been updated since '02 with the paring of Hotaru (Sailor Saturn) and Legolas. I was also inspired by ****Myrak the Slytherin****'s (who is such an amazing writer) fanfic **_**When Worlds Collide: The Plight of the One Ring **_**(check it out, it's pretty good).**

**I DON'T OWN SAILOR MOON OR LORD OF THE RINGS! THEY BELONG TO NAOKO TAKEUCHI AND J.R.R. TOLKEIN!**

Gates of Time

"Um...Trista," Hotaru started "why are Rini and I here?" Hotaru and Rini were worried. They had been called to the Gates of Time by Trista for a specific mission, but Trista hadn't said anything yet.

They all shared a look before Trista said, "The reason why I called you two here is because the two of you know how to work as a team, and partner coordination is what will be needed for this mission.

"You are here because several Youma have been sighted in Elysion, an extremely rare occurrence. Helios has told me of this and specifically asked for Rini to come and help. While I know that this is an impossible task to do alone, I have asked Hotaru to come as well. The two of you work well together and have developed a close bond," Trista finished with.

"All right! I'll get to see Helios again!" Rini exclaimed. She was so happy to get the opportunity to see him again. While Rini was in her own little fantasy world, Hotaru had a worried expression on her face, which Trista immediately noticed.

"Something wrong, Hotaru," Trista asked.

"Yeah...um...don't you remember what happened the last time people had to go back in time or to another dimension? You sent them to the wrong time period and they were stuck there for three days!" Hotaru said; remembering the story that Rini had told her, since she was sent back to the wrong time.

"Hotaru, has it ever occurred to you that you worry too much? I told Rini that I've been working on it, and everything is going to be fine," Trista said with an exasperated look on her face. "Now then," she continued, "Do both of you have everything you think you need?"

"Yes, we do," said Rini.

"All right. Helios should be at the precise spot where I'm about to send you. In case there are Youma out and about, I suggest you transform before going through the time gate," Trista said.

"Got it!" Hotaru and Rini said together. The girls got out their transformation wands and said:

"SATURN PLANET POWER! MAKE-UP!"

"MOON PRISM POWER! MAKE-UP!

And with that...Sailor Saturn and Sailor Mini Moon leaped through the time gate and into the portal that would lead them to Elysion...or so they thought...if only Sailor Pluto had checked her work thoroughly enough...

**A/N: aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! *runs away while people chase her with pitchforks and torches; hides under desk* OK, so please R&R...this is my first story...sorry for the cliffy, but it's the 1st chappy; cut me some slack.**


	2. Where are we?

**A/N: 'kay...so for those of you who have been reading, thanks! for those of you who haven't...what are you doing reading this chapter? Go back to the first chapter! Anywho, thanks for reading, reviewing, etc. Please check out Myrak the Slytherin's fanfic, "When Worlds Collide: The Plight of the One Ring (which was part of my inspiration to do a LotR crossover)!" Myrak is an AMAZING writer!**

**I DON'T OWN SAILOR MOON OR LORD OF THE RINGS! THEY BELONG TO NAOKO TAKEUCHI AND J.R.R. TOLKEIN!**

Portal to Elysion (or so they think)

Hotaru/Sailor Saturn POV

It felt really breezy going through the portal...the wind was going through my hair so hard and fast, I thought razors were cutting at it! I held on tight to my possessions-my Silence Glaive and the wood flute that Haruka-papa gave me (who got it from her friend Paul)-with one hand, and was gripping Rini's hand with the other.

Before I knew it, we had landed, and it HURT. "Rini," I started to say.

"What?" Rini replied.

"You've done this before...are landings in other dimensions supposed to hurt? Because if they aren't, it can only mean one thing, and I think you know."

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"If you're thinking that Sailor Pluto dropped us in the wrong dimension, then yes, I am thinking what you're thinking. Ugh...my head hurts."

That's when I heard something...it sounded like feet...rather, a horse's hooves coming our way, along with many chains. "Rini! We have to hide!" I whispered.

"Why? They could be here to help us!" Rini argued.

Unfortunately, our supposed "help" wasn't help at all. It was some kind of monster-looking thing; tall and it looked like it was made from body tissue...it grossed me out, and it looked like it had a spear. "Hotaru, what are you waiting for? We have to fight!" Rini yelled.

"Right, let's go!" I replied.

And with that, we charged toward the monster-looking thing...

Only for it to get the first strike. The spear got me in the left arm, which immediately started to bleed. _Ouch..._I thought. There wasn't any time to reflect on what was going on then. "SAILOR SATURN!" Rini yelled, trying to fight off the thing by herself using her Pink Sugar Heart Attack. I got up, grabbed my glaive...

And then I blacked out.

Rini/Sailor Mini Moon POV

Hotaru just blacked out! I was so scared. I didn't want to die! I thought for sure I was a goner, but that's when I saw a swordsman running by. He was tall, had shaggy brown hair, and looked like he was important. He fought with the monster thing, and swung his sword so fast; I could barely see it! I tried to help out with my Pink Sugar Heart Attack, but it didn't look like it was doing much good; if anything, it was just making the thing angrier.

I turned to the swordsman as I was attacking and said "I'm just making it angrier, aren't I?"

He replied, "That you are. Do you have a sword or a dagger or something?" I shook my head no, and that's when I remembered: the Silence Glaive! I ran over to Hotaru, grabbed the glaive, and hit the monster right in the heart...only for it to explode in a shower of blood and guts.

I did a quick check of myself...my arms were okay, with a few large bruises, which was when I thought that Serena was going to kill me when I got home...until I noticed my left leg; it looked like the monster got me and I wasn't looking. Blood was oozing out of the wound pretty fast; but now wasn't the time to worry about me. I ran (or should I say limped) over to Hotaru and looked at her.

She was getting paler by the second, and her body was covered with blood that came from her arm; I didn't know how much longer she would live.

That's when I blacked out.

**A/N: OK, please R&R! Again, my first fanfic, and I DO NOT tolerate flamers! If anyone flames...well, we'll get to that when it happens... *laughs evilly***


	3. Rivendell and Forming the Fellowship

**I DO NOT OWN THE DIALOG FROM LORD OF THE RINGS; THAT BELONGS TO PETER JACKSON; AND I DO NOT OWN LORD OF THE RINGS ITSELF OR SAILOR MOON; THEY BELONG TO J.R.R. TOLKEIN AND NAOKO TAKEUCHI!**

Middle Earth; Rivendell; Elrond's house/hut/whatever it is

_thoughts_

"_Elvish_"

"Speech"

Hotaru/Sailor Saturn POV

When I regained feeling in my body, I noticed that my head really hurt. I opened my eyes, and I checked myself over. I noticed that my left arm was somewhat healed; there was this huge mark that the monster left that was big and round, but at least it wasn't bleeding. I had a feeling that Haruka-papa and Michiru-mama would probably kill me when I got home. I took a quick look around and saw Rini in a bed that was similar to mine. She sat up, turned to look at me, and said, "Ugh...Hotaru I had the strangest dream! I dreamed that Sailor Pluto sent us to the wrong dimension and-"Rini looked down, noticed she was sitting on a bed that wasn't hers, and said "That wasn't a dream. I'm going to kill Sailor Pluto when we get back."

"I'm with you on that one, Rini," I replied.

That's when a man with unusually long brown hair and strange looking ears walked in. "You're awake," he said, "My name is Lord Elrond, and you are in Rivendell, which is in Middle Earth. What are your names?"

I turned to look at Rini, and got a feeling that we should tell him we were sailor scouts. I said to Elrond, "My name is Hotaru, and over there on the other bed is my friend Rini. We're sailor scouts. I am Sailor Saturn, the Sailor Soldier of death and rebirth, and Rini is Sailor Mini Moon, the princess of the moon kingdom of the thirtieth century."

Lord Elrond-or whatever he called himself-gave us an odd look, and then a look of realization came upon his face. That's when he shouted something in another language to someone standing outside, before switching to English, which was when he said, "There will be a council meeting in the grove very soon, and it is imperative that both of you attend." That's when he turned around and walked out.

I turned to Rini and said "A council meeting? We get sent to the wrong dimension and we have to get involved in politics? What more can possibly go wrong?"

**20 minutes later**

Rini/Sailor Mini Moon POV

A man in grey robes came to us and said "It is time for the council meeting." Hotaru and I turned and followed this strange grey man to where the council would be set. I was scared out of my mind...for an old guy, this man looked pretty tough, and I doubt that if we tried to escape, we'd be down faster than we could bring out our weapons. So, Hotaru tried for some conversation.

"Excuse me, um...what's your name?" she asked.

The man kept walking and said, "I am known as Gandalf the Grey, and I am a wizard. You two girls are Rini and Hotaru...or should I say, Sailors Saturn and Mini Moon."

Hotaru did a sharp intake of breath, and then asked, "How do you know that?" Gandalf continued walking and said "There was a prophecy a long time ago that said two girls would come from another world to help us in our quest. One of them would find something they lost some time ago. You will find out more about that in the meeting."

Gandalf took us out to what appeared to be some kind of grove. There was a circle of stone chairs, with what looked like a stone table in the middle. Lord Elrond was sitting on one of the chairs, as well as some really, really short people with really hairy beards and more short people that had big feet.

There was also another group. They looked similar to Lord Elrond with their long hair; and they looked like they could do anything with ease and grace.

Sitting on another side of the circle were a group of men, one of them who I recognized to be the man who helped Hotaru and I out while we were fighting that monster. I breathed a sigh of relief, and then I exchanged a quick glance with Hotaru before we took our seats. When Elrond noticed that everyone was here, the meeting started.

"Strangers from distant lands, friends of old. You have been summoned here to answer the threat of Mordor. None can escape it. You will unite or you will fall. Each race is bound to this fate, this one doom." He turned to one of the short guys with big feet and said, "Bring forth the Ring, Frodo." The short guy who was called Frodo stood up with the ring, and placed it on the stone table. He then went back to his seat and sat down.

One of the men who looked human stood up and said "So it is true...in a dream, I saw the Eastern sky grow dark. But in the West, a pale light lingered. A voice was crying, 'The doom is near at hand, Isildur's Bane is found.' Isildur's Bane..." the man said while reaching for the ring.

"Boromir!" the man I recognized shouted.

That's when the wizard, Gandalf the Grey, stood up and said what sounded like some kind of a spell: "Ash Nazg Durbatuluk, Ash Nazg Gimbatul, Ash Nazg Thrakatuluk-" but was cut off by Hotaru transforming into Sailor Saturn and using her Silence Glaive Surprise attack, which blasted Gandalf pretty far back.

Hotaru/Sailor Saturn POV

I couldn't believe what I had just done. I just attacked one of the council members, and without a second thought! I thought for sure that Rini and everybody else in the area probably already hated me. Unsure of what to do, I transformed back into my civilian form, sat down, and let the tears in my eyes fall freely. "I'm so sorry...I thought he was casting some kind of dark spell, and I got scared, and I was trying to stop him...I'm so sorry!" I said.

Gandalf turned my way and said, "I understand why you did what you did; you weren't sure of what I was doing, and that scared you." He then turned to face the council and said "Everyone, the two girls sitting down over there," he paused while gesturing to where Rini and I were sitting, "are sailor scouts. Rini, the one with the pink hair, is Sailor Mini Moon, the princess of the moon kingdom of the thirtieth century, and the other girl is Hotaru, also known as Sailor Saturn, the Sailor Soldier of death and rebirth. I am sure that you have heard what the prophecy said, but if you haven't, it said that two young girls from another world would come to aid us in our quest. I believe that these are the girls the prophecy is talking about. The Ring must be destroyed. That is our quest."

The one called Boromir stood up and said, "It is a gift. A gift to the foes of Mordor. Why not use this ring? Long has my father, the Steward of Gondor, kept the forces of Mordor at bay. By the blood of our people are your lands kept safe. Give Gondor the weapon of the enemy. Let us use it against him."

Another man stood up and said, "You cannot wield it. None of us can. The One Ring answers to Sauron alone. It has no other master."

Boromir countered with, "And what would a Ranger know of this matter?"

That's when a man who looked similar to Lord Elrond said, "This is no mere Ranger. He is Aragorn, son of Arathorn. You owe him your allegiance."

Boromir had a look of shock on his face as he turned to Aragorn. "Aragorn," said Boromir, "this is Isildur's heir?"

The man who introduced Aragorn said, "And heir to the throne of Gondor."

The one called Aragorn turned to the man and said in another language, "_Sit down, Legolas._" I was unsure as to what this language was, but given the fact that the only people who understood it were Elrond, Aragorn, the guy Aragorn was talking to—his name sounded like Legolas—and all the other elves I guessed it was some sort of Elvish.

Boromir looked angry as he said, "Gondor has no king. Gondor needs no king," and sat down.

"Aragorn is right," said Gandalf, "We cannot use it. You have no choice; the Ring must be destroyed."

"Well, what are we waiting for?" shouted one of the short and bearded men, who then jumped up and tried to destroy the ring with his ax. However, something caused the ax to break, and the ring was left completely intact.

Elrond sighed and said, "The Ring cannot be destroyed, Gimli, son of Gloin, by any craft we here possess. The ring was made in the fires of Mount Doom. Only there can it be unmade. The ring must be taken deep into Mordor and cast back into the fiery chasm from whence it came. One of you must do this."

Boromir said that a person couldn't just walk into Mordor, the gates were guarded by more than just monsters-which they called orcs-that there was an evil that did not sleep; the great eye. It was ever watchful and even the air was poisonous fumes. He continued with that a person couldn't do this even if they had ten thousand men; it was absolute idiocy.

The one called Legolas said "Have you heard nothing Lord Elrond has said? The ring must be destroyed!"

The one called Gimli countered with that no one should ever trust an elf, and that Legolas was acting all high and mighty. Everyone was shouting at each other, when the one called Frodo shouted, "I will take it! I will take the Ring to Mordor. But...I do not know the way."

Gandalf sighed to himself and said, "I shall help you bear this burden, Frodo Baggins, for as long as it is yours to bear."

Aragorn came up next and said, "If by my life or death I can protect you, I will. You have my sword."

Then Legolas came up and said, "And you have my bow."

Gimli walked up and said, "And my ax!"

The one called Boromir walked up and said "You carry the fate of us all, little one. If this is indeed the will of the Council, then Gondor will see it done."

I quickly exchanged a glance with Rini, and could tell she was thinking the same thing I was; that we should help them. Not only that, but I had a feeling we would gain more insight into that prophecy. We walked up, and I said, "You have the power of Saturn and the power of the future moon on your side; we will help you out."

That's when someone who looked similar to Frodo (in the short but big feet aspect) came up from behind a pillar and said, "Hey! Mr. Frodo isn't going anywhere without me!"

Lord Elrond sighed and said, "No indeed. It is hardly possible to separate you, when he is summoned to a secret council and you are not."

Two more people who looked similar to Frodo came up and one of them shouted, "We're coming too! You'll have to send us home tied up in a sack to stop us!"

The other one said "Plus, you need people of intelligence on this sort of mission...quest...thing."

The first person to speak said "Well, that rules you out, Pip."

Lord Elrond looked at all of us, and said, "Eleven companions...so be it! You shall be the Fellowship of the Ring."

The one called Pip said, "Great! Where are we going?"


	4. Training and New Powers

**A/N: I know I shouldn't be dedicating chapters, but...this one goes to sakurademonalchemist for favoriting this story! thanks!**

**I DO NOT OWN THE DIALOG FROM LORD OF THE RINGS; THAT BELONGS TO PETER JACKSON; AND I DO NOT OWN LORD OF THE RINGS ITSELF OR SAILOR MOON; THEY BELONG TO J.R.R. TOLKEIN AND NAOKO TAKEUCH**

"Elvish"

"Speech"

"_song"_

Hotaru/Sailor Saturn POV

"Well," Elrond started off with after the meeting, "Since the Hobbits have no training in using weaponry, and the I don't believe the Sailor Scouts do either, I will give you a month deadline to master a type of weaponry of your choice. Aragorn and Boromir are very well trained in the ways of swordsmanship, and Legolas knows all there is to know about archery and using daggers. Your choice."

Just before Lord Elrond turned around to walk away, I said, "But Lord Elrond, I have my Silence Glaive. Isn't that enough?"

Lord Elrond turned around to face me and said, "What would you do if your glaive was taken from you, Hotaru? You need to know how to use another weapon."

I sighed and exchanged a quick look with Rini. Lord Elrond then continued with, "I want your decisions by tonight, and no later. Understand?" That was met with a lot of yeses. That's when Aragorn and Boromir stood up to speak about swordsmanship.

Aragorn went first and said, "Sword fighting is not an art to be taken lightly. The sword that I carry is custom made; made with Elven magic embalmed in it."

Boromir countered with, "Yes, Aragorn, but you were trained by Rangers, while I was trained by master swordsmen in all the ways of swordsmanship."

Rini asked, "Wait a minute. There's different ways to fight with swords?"

Aragorn turned around and looked down at Rini before answering, "Yes, Princess, but it all depends on the type of person you are. Would you fight for your own amusement? To protect a loved one?"

Rini closed her eyes for a minute, then opened them, before saying, "I would fight to protect someone I care about. I choose to learn about swordsmanship with Aragorn. But...I don't have a sword."

The hobbits called Frodo and Sam said that they would also learn about swordsmanship with Aragorn, whereas the one called Pip and his friend would learn about swordsmanship with Boromir. The only person who remained quiet was me. I wasn't sure what I wanted to do.

When Lord Elrond excused everyone from the council, Rini and I went back to our room to talk. "Rini, we have to try to get to Sailor Pluto...I don't care if she can't bring us back, I want to yell at her for screwing up!"

Rini looked down and said, "Well...I've been trying, but the only thing that's going through our communicators is static. Looks like we're on our own. Speaking of which, what weaponry are you going to choose?"

I shrugged and said, "I don't know, Rini. I just don't know." I felt so overwhelmed by everything, so I said, "Rini, I need some alone time; I'm going to go take a walk, okay?" Rini looked so worried, but she said yes anyway, so I left our room and went outside to explore Rivendell.

Rivendell was such a beautiful place...the water was so clear, you could see the bottom of the deepest lake if you tried hard enough. The grass was so green, and the way the sun shone on it made it look even greener. There was a small wooden bridge connecting a part of the land to a large waterfall. I walked onto the bridge and just stared at the waterfall. Time just seemed to stand still as I listened to the sound of the cascading water. I got out the wooden flute that Haruka-papa gave me and started to play it:

(A/N: The song is the English version of the song "You are My Love" from Tsubasa Chronicles [check out the Japanese version, it's really great!]; sorry it's only part of it, but didn't want to do the whole thing)

"_Kiss me sweet_

_I'm sleeping in silence_

_All alone...in ice and snow_

_In my dream, I'm calling your name_

_You are my love"_

As I played my flute, I began to question myself; wondering who I really am as Sailor Saturn. Am I really the sailor scout of death and rebirth? What if it was only destruction? My power was feared by others because I had the power to destroy a planet.

My contemplation was interrupted when someone tapped on my shoulder. I didn't realize how much time had gone by; the moon was out, and it shone so beautifully on the water. I felt a tap on my shoulder. I stopped playing and turned around to see who it was, and it was Lord Elrond. "I am sorry to interrupt your playing," he started with, "but I need a decision on what kind of weaponry you wish to master. What is your decision?"

I stared at the water for a couple minutes before saying, "I guess...I would like to learn about archery considering I prefer long ranged attacks. But...I don't have a bow and arrow, and I don't know what would be the proper way to approach...um, what's his name again?"

Lord Elrond smiled and said, "The elf who teaches it is Legolas. Ask him tomorrow if he will teach you."

I bowed to Lord Elrond and said, "Thank you," before going back to my room. Once there, I slept.

Next Day

Rini and I woke up; dreading the training we had to do. We walked out into where the training would take place which was when Rini exclaimed, "Why in the name of the thirtieth century moon kingdom did I choose to do sword fighting...why? I'm too short to carry a sword...it would never work out!"

I thought about this for a minute before answering, "You should do it, because you want to protect those you care about. Besides, size is kind of an advantage in your case. The enemy would just look down, thinking you couldn't do much, then suddenly-POW!-you get him down, and it's end game. It's one of those stronger-than-you-appear things that Haruka-papa taught me."

"Well, that's true," Rini replied, "but I doubt that there's a sword that's good for my size that would work for me." As soon as Rini said that, we arrived.

Rini then said, "Well, guess I better find Aragorn, and you need to find...what was that elf's name again?"

I smiled and said, "Legolas. I'm a little nervous, but more long ranged attacks would be good for my arsenal. Holy cow, I sound like Michiru-mama; I'd better get going before I go absolutely crazy. How about after we're done, we meet at the bridge that connects to that big waterfall, okay?"

Rini gave a big smile and said, "Yes! See you later!" before going off to find Aragorn and train with him. That's when I started to walk around to find Legolas.

I found him standing under a tree, a few yards away from a target; brushing up on his skills. I heard something that sounded like some kind of a bird behind me. I turned around and it was a raven. I stared at it, before I heard a voice say, "You don't want to look at one of those for too long. Their darkness will captivate you and control you." I turned around, and it was Legolas.

"Anything I can help you with, Lady Hotaru?" he asked.

I looked at him squarely in the eye, before saying, "Yes. I was wondering if you could teach me archery."

Legolas gave me a strange look before saying, "Of course. Which hand do you write with?" I told him that I was right-handed. He then said, "Position yourself across from the target. Shoulders down, back straight, and focus on the target. Hold the spine of the bow with your left hand, and pull the string back with your right." I pulled the string back, and then he found a good stance for me. Then Legolas told me to release the string, which I did; cutting my wrist in the process.

"Ouch." I said, looking at it. "Wait here," Legolas said.

I replied to him with, "No, it's fine. I can heal it myself," which I did; I placed my other hand over my wrist and concentrated on the wound. The symbol of Saturn shone on my forehead, and a purple light escaped my hand, covered the wound, and it was healed.

Legolas gave me another strange look before going on and saying, "Let's start by getting ready to shoot the arrow. To shoot it, you should first assume the ready stance that we set up earlier. Make sure that your body is perpendicular to the target and the shooting line, and your feet are placed shoulder-width apart." He helped me get into this position, and continued with, "To get ready to shoot your arrow, point your bow toward the ground and place the shaft of your arrow on the rest which is attached to the bow. Attach the back of the arrow to the bowstring with the 'nock', which is that small colored bit at the other end of the arrow." He showed me what he was talking about, and I nodded that I understood, before he continued with, "This is called '_nocking the arrow.'_ Typical arrows with three vanes should be oriented such that a single vane, the 'fletching' or 'feather' is pointing away from the bow. The bowstring and arrow are held with three fingers. The string is usually placed in either the first or second joint of your fingers." Legolas then took the bow from me to show me what he meant, then helped me find a comfortable position for it, before continuing with, "Now raise your bow and draw. This is often one fluid motion which tends to vary from archer to archer. Draw your string hand towards your face, where it should rest lightly at an _anchor point_. This point is consistent from shot to shot and is usually at the corner of the mouth or on the chin. Hold your bow arm outwards toward the target. The elbow of this arm should be rotated so that your inner elbow is parallel to the ground." He took my elbow and moved it to the right position, then stepped back. He then said, "Release your arrow by relaxing your fingers on your drawing hand. Usually this type of release aims to keep the drawing arm rigid and move it back using the back muscles, as opposed to using arm motion. Now, release the arrow." He told me, and I did as he said. I relaxed my fingers, and released the arrow; causing it to leave the bow and hit the ground a few feet away from the target.

I grimaced and said, "Well, at least it went near the target."

Rini/Sailor Mini Moon POV

I looked over to see how Hotaru was doing with her archery lesson. It looked like she was doing pretty good; she certainly learned fast, and by the looks of it, picked the right weapon. I turned to face Aragorn, who finally found a sword that was perfect for someone of my size. I grasped the hilt of the sword, and felt power enter my body from it. Apparently, Aragorn was astonished, too, but then a bright light was released, and when it faded, the blade turned pink.

"Hm," Aragorn said, "it appears that your power over the moon has been channeled into this sword, and its power is going into you. Interesting." Randomly changing the subject, he said, "Focus on an enemy that can slay you effortlessly, should you become unfocused." I closed my eyes and began to think about who I could slay effortlessly My first thought was of Nehelenia, and if I got distracted at all, I would have been trapped in one of her many mirrors. I opened my eyes, ran at the target, and hit it as hard as I could with the sword; it was definitely more powerful than my Pink Sugar Heart Attack, and I bet it could get me out of a tight spot if needed. "Very good, Princess," Aragorn said as he put his hand on my shoulder.

"Thank you!" I said.

Hotaru/Sailor Saturn POV

It was a few hours later, and I finally hit the target in the middle without it being sheer dumb luck! I was shocked beyond belief; it kinda left me speechless. Legolas then said that we should stop for the day. I sat down on the grass, and it felt so nice; especially with the wind flowing through my hair. Legolas took out what looked like some kind of a rag and polished his bow, before giving mine the same treatment. "So," he said as he sat down, "You do not know much about the different races of Middle Earth, do you?" he asked me.

I said, "No, but from what I gathered as much, Gandalf is a wizard, Frodo and those other three short guys are Hobbits, and they have huge feet," I said, which made him smile a little bit; before continuing with, "Gimli is a dwarf, and you and Elrond are Elves. I think that's right, but what I want to know is what Gandalf was about to say; in what I believe you call Westron."

Legolas looked at me strangely, before saying, "What Gandalf was about to say was what was written on the Ring. In Common Tongue, it is directly translated to 'One Ring to Rule Them All. One Ring to Find Them. One Ring to Bring Them All and In The Darkness Bind Them.'"

My mind was stuck on that one line: "And in the darkness bind them." As I was thinking, Legolas asked me, "I heard something last night that sounded like a flute of some kind. Was it you?"

I looked at him in shock; I didn't think anyone had heard my playing at all, but apparently I was wrong. I sighed, thinking that I might as well tell him, before saying, "Yes that was me. Sorry if I woke you; I thought everyone had gone to bed or something. A lot was on my mind."

I turned around, and saw Rini running up towards me, sword in hand. "Hotaru! Check this out," she said, before showing me her new swordsmanship techniques.

"Wow, Rini that looks great! But how is your sword...pink?" I asked. "Long story; are you done your training?" she asked, and I said that I was, so we headed over to the bridge as we had planned.

We stared at the waterfall before Rini said, "I overheard you talking to Legolas about the different races of Middle Earth, and about whatever Gandalf was trying to say. But...what I want to know is, what did the Ring say, and why did you refer to the English language as Westron, when it's just called English?"

I sighed and answered, "As for why I called the English language Common Tongue, I can't tell you, because I don't know. It kind of just came to me, and my instincts told me to use the word. As for what the Gandalf was trying to say, it was the words written on the Ring. According to Legolas, the inscription on the ring directly translates to 'One Ring to Rule Them All. One Ring to Find Them. One Ring to Bring them All and In The Darkness Bind Them.' I don't entirely understand what it means, but enough bombarding me with questions; it's my turn to ask you. Here's one: how come the blade of your sword is pink?"

It was Rini's turn to sigh, as she said, "According to Aragorn, my power over the moon was 'channeled into the sword,' or something like that. I don't really get it, but they're the experts; might as well go with what they're saying. This is all so overwhelming. I feel like my head's about to explode!"

I laughed, before saying, "I agree with you that it's overwhelming, but I'm sure it's going to get better. Maybe you'll feel better if you take a nap or something."

Rini nodded and said, "Maybe you're right. I think I'll head back to our room now. Don't stay out here too long!"

I laughed, told her I wouldn't, and she started to head back to our room. Once again, I was unaware of how much time had gone by; the full moon shone brightly in the sky and was reflected on the water. I took out my flute and began to play it:

(a/n: this is the English translation of the song "Tsubasa wo Daite" (from the anime "Mermaid Melody) which means "Accept My Wings" in Japanese. There is no official English version of this [thank goodness for that...4kids could screw it up and dub it all crazy and ugh...], so if you want the English version, look up the rest of the translation and sing it yourself)

"_The sky far away from here is illuminated._

_I fly forth, aiming towards that light, but_

_The cold rain soaks my wings_

_and I'm alone again today._

_Like the ripples on water, my distant_

_memories within my heart are wavering._

_Right now, I just want to quietly sleep_

_in a translucent wind embraced in wings._

_I'm looking for the whereabouts of the destiny I was entrusted with._"

As I played, I thought about the same thing I thought about yesterday: who I was as Sailor Saturn. Was I really the sailor soldier of death and rebirth? Or was it just destruction? I thought about how I had attacked Gandalf yesterday at the council meeting, and continued to think about it. Or at least, that's what I hoped to do, until I felt someone tap my shoulder. I put my flute down, turned around, and it was...Legolas. He walked up to the edge of the bridge and looked at the waterfall before saying, "You are ill at ease, Lady Hotaru. Does the Ring trouble you?"

I shook my head, feeling the unshed tears in my eyes glisten, before saying, "It's not that, but I am a little nervous about it."

"Then what is it that does trouble you?" he asked.

I sighed, and said, "I guess...I'm not sure about who I am as Sailor Saturn. I don't know if I'm really the soldier of death and rebirth. Is it just death? I've been thinking about how I attacked Gandalf yesterday, and it's kind of making me doubt myself a little."

Legolas turned around to look me in the eye, before saying, "You should not feel self doubt. Remember, Hotaru, Sailor Saturn is you, meaning she has your personality as well as your body. Because she is you, you make the decision of what kind of sailor soldier she is. Although I have only known you for a day, you are the sailor soldier of death and rebirth. Not because you value life so much, but because you are willing to fight for the lives of others." He turned to walk away, before saying, "Nice song."

**A/N: OK...You wanted a long chapter; here it is. Took me 3 days to finish it off, but I did. These things really do a number on my head...anywho, credit goes to Myrak the Slytherin for letting me use the archery explanation, and the guy on Wiki who wrote and posted the explanation, and Wiki for hosting it. Dang, that's a mouthful. Anyway, thanks, and R&R (please)!**


	5. Off to Mordor! part I

Hotaru/Sailor Saturn POV

Well a month came, went, and Rini and I were so tired from all the intense training we had to do. I learned how to use daggers, in addition to a bow and arrow, and Legolas said that I was almost as good as him; and that's saying something! Something seemed strange, though...I remembered when Legolas came up to me while I was playing my flute a few nights ago. It seemed as though he knew the song I was playing. I thought for sure that that wasimpossible. Haruka-papa taught me how to play that herself, and there was just about no way in the entire universe he could have known it…was there?

The night before we left for the long and tiring journey to Mordor was very strange. Rini and I were in our rooms, in bed, and I was sleeping...or so I thought. I dreamt that I was in some kind of a castle. In my dream, I walked into the castle, and ran up to two people, who I didn't even know! That's when I felt some kind of a dark presence...the presence was coming closer and closer and...it ran up to the two people; and stabbed them, spraying blood everywhere.

That's when I woke up.

I was breathing fast and hard and I was sweating. That was quite the nightmare. Not only that, but it. I looked out the side of the room that allowed Rini and I to view the outside, and I saw the sun was rising. I looked over to see if Rini was awake, and sure enough, she was. Not only was she awake, but she was dressed in her sailor scout uniform; sword in its sheath and in her hand, and ready for action.

"Hotaru, hurry up and get ready! We have to go and meet everyone at the entrance to Rivendell and-" Rini stopped for a minute before saying, "Um...don't take this the wrong way, Hotaru, but you look awful. Did something happen last night?" I told her about my dream, and she said, "Sounds creepy, but it was just a bad dream; that's all. You're going to be fine. Now come on! The sooner we finish this mission, the sooner I can go back and kill Sailor Pluto!" I laughed, thinking about how she was right; it was just a dream, and it's not like it could have happened or something. I hurried up, got my things, transformed into Sailor Saturn, and ran to catch up with Rini...

Only to find that not all of the fellowship was there. I looked around, and saw someone missing. Aragorn, or whatever his name is, wasn't with us. "I wonder where Aragorn is." I said to Rini.

She looked around before saying, "There's Legolas; he's walking towards us now. You're right, though...Aragorn isn't here yet."

Legolas stepped over and said, "He has gone to visit the grave of his mother. He will return shortly." Legolas then went to check on the horses to make sure that they were ready for the long journey.

Rini and I took a last look at Rivendell, before noticing Frodo talking to what looked like another Hobbit. They were talking about something, and the other Hobbit handed Frodo a sword and some kind of weird armor, and when he put the armor on, the Ring glistened in the sunlight. That's when we heard the other Hobbit say, "I would like to hold my ring again...just one last time." The hobbit then got this weird look on his face; as if he had gone mad or something; before grabbing Frodo and shaking him by the shoulders. When the Hobbit realized what he had done, he started to cry as he said, "I'm so sorry you must carry this burden, Frodo. I'm sorry."

When Aragorn came back, he handed Rini a small red belt, with a black sheath hanging from it for her sword (which Rini took great pleasure in putting her sword in the new sheath, and putting the belt on). Elrond turned to address us all and said, "The Ring-bearer is setting out on the Quest of Mount Doom. On you who travel with him, no oath nor bond is laid to go further than you will." He turned to walk away as he said, "Farewell."

Rini and I exchanged a look before Gandalf said, "The Fellowship awaits the Ring-bearer."

Frodo came back, looked around, and walked out of Rivendell. Not wanting to look like some kind of an idiot, he whispered to Gandalf, "Mordor. Is it left or right?"

Gandalf smiled and said, "Left." We walked for what seemed like a few miles before Legolas grabbed onto my hand.

I turned around, and he said, "I have a gift for you," and he handed me bracer gloves, which would help protect my hands when I was using my bow. He seemed like he was about to say something else, but he kept quiet, and walked ahead to catch up with Aragorn, whom he promptly started talking with right away. I couldn't help but wonder what it was that he was about to say. Maybe I should have told him about my dream. After all, the people in it looked a lot like…

**A/N: I LOOOOOVE re-writing! You have this huge sense of accomplishment! I feel like this is going really well. First 10 people to review get cookies!**


	6. Off to Mordor! part II

Continued from last Chapter, still Hotaru/Sailor Saturn's POV

Elves. They looked a lot like Elves. That didn't make sense, though. I was interrupted from my thoughts when I got a tap on the shoulder from Rini. I looked down at her, then over at the rest of the other group, to whom Gandalf was saying, "We must hold to this course, west of the Misty Mountains, for 40 days. If our luck holds, the Gap of Rohan will still be open to us. From there, our road turns east to Mordor."

I turned to look at Rini, and I switched to Japanese so the others wouldn't understand what we were talking about and said, "**Talk about a long walk...not what I wanted to talk about, though. I wonder...if we're doing the right thing? Everyone seems to be as if they don't want girls on this quest or whatever it is.**"

Rini turned to look at me, and said, "**I think we are. However, there are some people I don't entirely trust.**" Looking at the people in front of us, I got an idea of who: Rini didn't trust Legolas. I pondered this for a little bit, until Gandalf said that we should stop and rest for a while before continuing. I had no idea how much time had gone by, but I guessed a few hours.

Pip and his friend-whose name I just recently found out to be Merry-went to have a play sword-fight with Boromir, while Frodo's friend-Sam; another name I just found out-busied himself with getting food ready. Rini and I watched Merry and Pip fight with Boromir while waiting for the food to be ready. I got up, and walked over to Gandalf, who was sitting next to Gimli at said time, and it appeared that the two were busy in conversation.

Gimli looked around before saying, "If anyone was to ask for my opinion, which I note they're not I'd say we were taking the long way 'round. Gandalf, we could pass through the Mines of Moria. My cousin Balin would give us a royal welcome."

Gandalf sighed, and worry was written all over his face as he said, "No Gimli, I would not take the road through Moria unless I had no other choice." The answer was something Gimli may have expected, but what surprised me was that he didn't argue, given the fact that Gimli was the stubborn type. I sighed thinking that some things never changed, and Gimli's stubbornness had to be one of them_._I walked away, back towards Rini, but that's when IT happened.

I felt my vision start to go fuzzy, and I fell down. As I started to get up, my vision changed to what looked like something similar to that dream from a few nights ago; but this time, I was sitting next to the guy as he played a flute that looked oddly similar to mine. Not only was that similar to something of mine, but the song was one of the ones Haruka-papa taught me how to play! That couldn't have been some kind of a coincidence; it just couldn't have. Then the vision started to fade, and I blacked out.

Rini/Sailor Mini Moon POV

I was laughing while Boromir was play-fighting with Merry and Pip. It was actually pretty funny to watch. I turned around to see if Hotaru was enjoying herself, but she wasn't there, and I didn't see her anywhere. I got up to ask Legolas where she was, and before we knew it, we heard this _thud!_ that sounded like something (or someone) hit the ground hard. Legolas and I exchanged a look, ran over to see who it was, and it was Hotaru!

She looked just like she did when she had that dream, only this time, she looked worse. Her face was covered in mud and grass and dirt, and her eyes were tightly shut. It looked like tears were flowing down her face; but it could have been sweat or something. Legolas and I exchanged a look, before he turned to look at the sky, and I looked the same way. I couldn't really see much of anything, except for a big storm cloud. "It looks like a storm's coming; we better find some shelter!"

Apparently, Elf eyes could see things much better than human eyes, because that's when Legolas shouted, "Crebain from Dunland!"

There was a huge commotion; Aragorn shouted for everyone to hide, and I shouted at Legolas, "We have to get Hotaru to a safer area! Now!"

He turned to me with some kind of question on his face and said, "Doesn't she have the power to heal herself?"

I sighed, thinking that people could be such idiots sometimes, whether they were human or not before saying, "No you stupid elf! She has to be CONSCIOUS to do that! She's not okay, and we can't afford to leave her like this! There isn't much time; we have to hurry! Carry her on your back; or have one of the horses carry her, just get her to safety!"

He gave me a strange look before picking her up and placing her on a horse, which was when he lifted me up (which involved my kicking and screaming) and put me on the same horse sitting behind her. He whispered to the horse in what I sounded like Elvish and it followed the others as fast as the wind. I was so worried about Hotaru...she was okay from what happened last time, but that doesn't mean she was okay this time! I didn't want to lose my best friend again...I was so scared.

When the Crebain (or whatever they were) stopped coming after us, we got off our horses, and sat down on the ground. I ran over to Hotaru, and was yelling at everyone, "Can't you do something! She could be dead for all we know, and you're not doing anything!"

She must have felt my hand on her body or heard me yelling, because she woke up and said, "Ri...ni. I'm...fine. I...just need...to catch...my breath. Can we...talk...later?"

I was so happy to see that she was awake, I started to cry and said, "Don't scare me like that! I thought you were dying!"

She smiled weakly and said, "Well...I'm talking...aren't I? And...I'm...breathing...and...everything. Just...let me...catch...my breath." She talked with big breaths in between each sentence; which made me accept the fact that she was okay with a sigh of relief.

That whole experience was so scary, but now that Legolas apparently isn't that smart for not knowing that Hotaru had to be CONSCIOUS to heal herself, I'm not sure I should trust him. Still, Hotaru seems to trust him, but I'm not sure if she should...I thought that something was strange about that guy, and it wasn't his looks.

I was taken out of my thoughts by a tap on the shoulder. I turned to see who it was and it was Legolas, who said, "Your friend needs some breathing room. Let her rest. She will be fine."

I sighed and said, "Look; I don't know what your deal is, but while Hotaru may seem to trust you, I sure don't. Stay away!" He looked as though he was about to say something before I saw Hotaru sitting up.

"Can you get up?" I asked her. "Yeah...I think so," she said, "but...I feel some kind of dark presence. It's weird, but-" that sentence was cut off, because she sat bolt upright and her eyes turned a faded color before she said, "There's a man in a white cloak...long hair, long beard...all white, and he's standing in front of some kind of book with Elvish writing...I can make out what it says...it says 'You know what they awoke in the darkness of Khazad-dûm: Shadow and flame.' Now he's moving to some kind of crystal ball thingy...and his name sounds like...Sa...ru..man. Saruman! That's it! He's...talking. It sounds...like...like I've heard or seen him somewhere before, but that's impossible...and beside the point. It sounds like...he's casting some kind of spell. I can hear the earth in the mountain...it's crying. It sounds...like it's trying to warn us...that-" it was too late. The mountain started shake, along with the earth that was holding it up.

Hotaru collapsed again, only this time her face was in an expression of pain, and tears were streaming down her face. I looked at the mountain and saw that part of the rock foundation was falling down. Gandalf started chanting some kind of spell, but it didn't work. Snow and rocks from the mountain fell down, hard and fast. Snow blanketed Hotaru, me, and the rest of the fellowship. I managed to dig myself out, and apparently so did Legolas. I started yelling, "HOTARU! WHERE ARE YOU! HOTARU!"

I saw her weakly stick a hand out of the snow, before running over to her and helping her out. Legolas caught up with me, took off his traveling cloak, and handed it to Hotaru, and I said, "Thank goodness you're alright; you must be freezing!"

She looked at me strangely and said, "What are you talking about? I'm not cold at all." Legolas's eyes widened, and he exchanged a look with me.

Gimli looked around and said, "We cannot pass over a mountain. Let us go under it. Let us go through the Mines of Moria."

Gandalf sighed, and said, "It is the Ring-bearer's decision. Frodo?" Gandalf was silently hoping that Frodo wouldn't choose the mines, but I think that Gandalf also knew there was no other choice.

Frodo said, "We have no choice. We must go through the mines."

Gandalf sighed, and said, "So be it. Through the mines it is."

Legolas glared at Gimli before saying, "Which way, Dwarf?"

It sounded like there was a tone of spite in Legolas's voice, which that Gimli matched equally with, "South-west to the entrance of the caves and then through the mines underneath Mount Caradhras, Elf."

Hotaru, the rest of the fellowship, and I went back to where our things were, got our bearings, and off we went. Hotaru and I walked next to each other, and I had so many questions to ask her about her visions. Legolas ran to catch up with Aragorn, and they started talking in hushed voices. The journey to the mines of Moria had begun.

**A/N: OK...kind of long, but you'll see where Hotaru's visions come into detail later. Why doesn't Rini trust Legolas? How come Hotaru doesn't feel the cold? Why am I babbling and asking you all these questions? I have got to shut up. Well, same deal for last chappy...first ten people to review get cookies!**


	7. Doubts

**Hotaru/Sailor Saturn POV**

It was dark, creepy, and wet just outside the mines of Moria. This scenery should have been in some horror movie or something; it was creeping me out. I could feel shivers going up my spine. Gandalf called Frodo over to talk about something or other, before we arrived at a door. Gimli ran to the front, before explaining to us that what was in front of us were dwarf doors. "I don't see anything; it just looks like a giant wall. We're at a dead end."

Gimli then explained the dwarf doors were invisible when they were closed. Suddenly, a big ray of moonlight shone upon the doors. Rini asked Gandalf what they said, to which Gandalf replied, "It reads, 'The doors of Durin. Lord of Moria. Speak, friend, and enter.'"

Somehow, I already knew what it said, it's as though the writing on the wall had magically translated itself for me. It was written in Elvish, which didn't really make much sense, considering Elvish wasn't exactly my first language; let alone any of my languages. I could tell Rini thought that something was going on, and I didn't want to freak her out anymore.

"What do you suppose that means?" Merry asked from the back of the group.

"It's simple. If you are a friend, speak the password, and the doors will open." Gandalf replied. He tried saying several different words and phrases in a plethora of different languages. None of them worked.

It was probably about an hour or so later, when Pippin said, "Nothing's happening." Gandalf then began trying to open the door forcefully, which also didn't work. Gandalf was quite irritated at getting the wrong password, and began to pace, occasionally yelling at Pippin or Merry for some weird reason.

I stared at the door, as though it would give me some kind of inspiration. Sadly, none came. Rini was also concentrating on the door, and she couldn't think of anything either. Suddenly, something clicked in my mind. The writing on the wall was a riddle! "Speak 'friend' and enter" meant that the word "friend" had to be said in Elvish, given that that was the language of the riddle! "Friend." I said in Elvish, and the doors slid open. I could feel all eyes on me, but when I turned around, there were two people whose eyes were wide beyond comparison of the rest of the Fellowship: Rini and Legolas. I didn't quite get it, but I said, "We'd better get going, I doubt these doors will stay open forever."

Gandalf looked on in shock, and then muttered something about the last spell being delayed. I had no idea what was going on with me, and decided to let it slide.

It was a rather rocky terrain on the other side of the mine-or tomb; or whatever you want to call it. It was dark and wet and gross. We finally reached a staircase, which we began to slowly climb the stairs. It felt as though we were climbing Mt. Everest or something! Our only guides were Gandalf's sense of direction and Legolas's keen eyesight.

When we finally reached the top of the staircase, Gandalf took in the surroundings and said, "I have no memory of this place." Rini and I exchanged a look, and I could tell that we were both thinking that this definitely wasn't good_._

I could tell Rini was beginning to worry; even before she asked, "Are we lost?" I wasn't sure how to answer that, given I didn't know, but there was quite a bit of debate amongst the rest of the Fellowship about this.

I started to pace; I couldn't take all the tension. I noticed Frodo down near what looked like a ravine, and that's when I heard something. It sounded like feet. A Hobbit's feet. I turned to Frodo, who turned to Gandalf, and said, "Gandalf. There's something down there."

Gandalf sighed, and said, "Yes. It's Gollum. He's been following us for three days."

Frodo looked at Gandalf in shock, before saying, "He escaped the dungeons of Barad-dûr?" Gandalf said that Gollum either escaped or had been set loose, and that the Ring had brought Gollum to this area.

"Gollum will never be rid of his need for the Ring," Gandalf said, "because he hates and loves the Ring, as he hates and loves himself." he explained as he shook his head, "Sméagol's life is a sad story."

He turned back to Frodo after saying this, "Yes, Sméagol he was once called, before the Ring found him, before it drove him mad." He stated as he turned back to the doorways again. Frodo said something about it being a shame that some guy named Bilbo didn't kill Gollum when he had the chance.

Frodo sighed and said, "I wish the Ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened."

We continued to walk for what felt like hours, before Gandalf said, "Ah! It's that way!" Gandalf got our attention to one of the doorways. He lit up the end of his staff and I allowed a little light to come from my glaive so that everyone could see where they were going. We walked some more into a room that felt...wet. Gandalf stopped, held his arm out, as if presenting something, and said, "Behold the great realm and Dwarf-city of Dwarrowdelf."

"Gossip's worth its weight in gold." Gimli said in awe as he took in the city. Boromir then said something using quite a bit of rather...colorful language about the dwarf.

Gimli turned to him angrily and grunted, "It would be nice to not want to kill you all the time."

Gandalf smiled and turned to them to stop Gimli from attempting to kill Boromir, and said, "Now, Gimli," Gandalf said and then turned to Boromir, "You reap what you sow...You have heard of this, correct?" he asked. "If you haven't then I warn you that insulting a Dwarf in his domain is not a smart move." He said warningly before addressing us while Boromir glared at the floor, "We shall make camp here and continue on come morning." He told them all with a smile, before he turned serious again, "We must be careful, however, for I fear there may be horrors lurking about in the still darkness around us. Be on your guard." He warned them while sharing a glance with Legolas who nodded lightly.

I sighed, wondering when all this was going to be over_. _I couldn't take the tension. I sat down, and I could feel the tears silently cascading down my face. I heard Rini come over and say, "Hotaru, what's wrong?" I sighed. Rini was the last person who I wanted to talk to right now.

"Nothing, Rini. I have one question, though." I paused before reverting to Japanese and saying, "**Why do you keep hovering over me like I'm some kind of science experiment gone bad? Have I done something?**"

Rini looked at me in shock, before replying in the same language with, "**You've changed...You're different from my best friend, and I don't know what's happening to you. It's not fair!**" She glared at me before running off.

I knew I should have said something, but...everything just seemed so overwhelming. I walked over to a rock near a small stream and sat on it. I could hear Aragorn and Legolas talking, and they kept glancing either at me, Rini, or the other Hobbits. I wondered what they were saying, given the fact that it was in Elvish. Suddenly, something clicked in my head, and I could understand what they were saying. I pretended to be very interested in something in the ravine while I listened to them talk.

"I'm worried about how the Hobbits are fairing in this place_._" Aragorn whispered as he looked around the vast hall.

"They are stronger than they look and seem. However, I fear the Ring's power is starting to wear Frodo down. I fear he may succumb." Legolas answered, his voice laced with concern.

"What about Rini and Hotaru_?_" Aragorn asked the Elf.

Legolas sighed slightly before turning to look at him, "Lady Rini_,_I have not conversed with, so I am unaware of the reason she is even here. As for LadyHotaru, there's something...different about her. I suspect she knowsElvish_._" He answered. Shivers ran up my spine at that...how could he have heard me speak Elvish? I quickly became interested in a couple of sticks that were nearby and continued to listen to the conversation.

"What makes you think she knows Elvish_?_" Aragorn asked curiously.

"I heard her speak the Elvish word for 'friend'. Also, I heard her play an Elvish lullaby on her flute. There's a possibility that the Elvish song is just a coincidence, as well as there being a possibility that she learned a few words while we were in Rivendell, but something is nagging at me that there is more to it than that." Legolas said.

There was a moment of silence, before Aragorn asked, "Would it be so bad if she did?"

Legolas looked back at him for a moment before sighing, and saying, "I suppose not. Still, I cannot help but wonder how she even learned it in the first place. There is no way she could have just appeared here out of nowhere and suddenly learned the Elvish language. It is not possible to learn it in a few days. It takes centuries to master the pronunciation and the difficult words. The only way she would know it in some way would be if she grew up learning it, or if she was Elf, and that would make her subconsciously know it anyway." Legolas explained to him quietly.

I sighed, fiddling around with the sticks. I drew the symbol for Saturn in ground, as if it would give me some kind of guidance. Haruka-papa always said, "When the going gets tough, the tough get going. That means you, Hotaru, and you can do whatever you put your mind to." Now, I wasn't so sure. I felt like my heart was going to rip out of my chest. I decided to go to sleep early, so I went back to where we had stopped, and went to sleep.

**A/N: Well, here's the next chapter. Because of school and stuff, the most I'll get to update (hopefully) is either once or twice a week or every other week, but I'll do as much as I can on the weekends. Hope you liked! R&R and tell your FanFic buddies about this story so they can R&R, too! Thanks! :D**

**PS: For future reference, if any chapter is going to be in 1 character's POV for the entire chapter, it's going to be called (name)'s Journey. Just thought I should let you know, because I have a feeling that a lot of those are coming up. Thanks!**


	8. Hotaru's Journey

**Hotaru/Sailor Saturn POV**

I woke up from a surprisingly relaxing sleep. It was hard to tell if it was morning or not, given the fact that we were in a stupid mine...it was cold, wet, dark, and hard. I got up, stretched, and got ready to continue the rest of our journey. I walked over to Rini, but the moment she saw me, she ran over to Aragorn, and started talking to him about something or other. I sighed, and thought _Why is this so hard...what did Rini mean?_ I was taken out of my thoughts by a slap on the back of my leg from Gimli. Dwarves may be short, but they pack quite a punch. I ignored the pain, and walked on.

As I walked, I felt a hand touch my shoulder. I sighed before turning around, and saying, "What do you want?"

It was Aragorn. "I merely wanted to know if something was on your mind," he said, "but if you do not wish to talk about it, that is fine, too."

I sighed, and said, "Maybe later, Aragorn. I'm just feeling overwhelmed right now, and I need some time to myself."

I could tell that he didn't believe me, but he still said, "So be it. Should you ever need to talk to someone, I am here." I thanked him, before I noticed that we had reached our destination.

I felt relief; or rather, a moment of relief. Something didn't seem right; my feeling was confirmed when we noticed a lot of dead bodies. They were short, wearing armor, and carrying axes. Dwarves. Gimli's kin. I gasped, whereas Gimli cried out, "No! Oh, no." He ran forward to what looked like a coffin, and started sobbing. In between sobs, he read out, "'Here lies Balin, son of Fundin, Lord of Moria.'"

Gandalf sighed, and said, "He is dead, then." Gandalf then turned to Legolas and said, "It's as I feared."

"What's as you feared?" Rini asked.

Gandalf didn't answer; he handed his staff and his hat over to the Hobbit named Pippin, and walked over to a skeleton that had what looked like a large book in its hands. Legolas walked around the room examining the weapons that had been used to slay the Dwarves before he went to stand next to Aragorn and said, "We must move on. We cannot afford to linger here much longer."

"'They have taken the bridge and the second hall.'" Gandalf began gaining everyone's, especially Gimli's, attention, "'We have barred the gates, but cannot hold them for long. The ground shakes. Drums...'" As he continued to read, Pippin began walking backwards, "'...drums in the deep." Gandalf looked up at Gimli sadly then and turned the page, "'We cannot get out.'" As this was being said, I thought I heard something that sounded like it had really big feet. Bigger than a Hobbit's at any rate. Legolas apparently noticed this, and when I looked over at him in confusion, he started to walk over towards me. He stopped as Gandalf continued, "'A Shadow moves in the dark.'"

I knew we had to get out of here, and since I couldn't see the exit, I used my power of the silence to detect where it was. It was a little northwest. "Aragorn," I said, "We have to get out of here. Now. There is a door that's a little northwest that we can use." Aragorn nodded, gathered up the Hobbits, and we started to walk. I felt a tap on my shoulder. Turning around, I saw it was Legolas.

"How could you hear that?" he said.

I gave him a look that had the words "I'm confused" written all over my face, before saying, "Hear what?"

"The noises in the dark," he said.

Now I was really confused, so I asked, "Why does it matter if I did or not?"

He bent down a little, and whispered, "The only way you could have heard those noises is if you have the enhanced hearing ability that the Elves are born with. What are you, really?"

I was really beginning to get irritated, so I said, "Okay, look. I don't know why I could hear those noises. You know who I am, so just drop it, okay? And even if I did know why, I certainly wouldn't tell you, because you won't stop pestering me about this. This is already hard enough!" I stomped off towards the door, before I heard Gandalf say, "We cannot get out. They are coming."

There was a long silence, which was broken by a noise from within the depths of the mines. Gandalf turned to look back at Rini and I. Rini was so pale; it looked like she was going to faint. More bangs issued out of the darkness, followed by the screeching of something that didn't sound too friendly, made Boromir and Aragorn look around. Not being able to figure out from which direction the sounds were coming from, Legolas stood in front of me while holding my arm and Sam looked down at Frodo's sword which was glowed brightly in the darkness. "Frodo!" the Hobbit said as Frodo pulled his sword out a little and looked back at Sam with fear.

The noise grew louder, and I could tell that Legolas was listening to the noises pretty intently. "Orcs," he said, before he pulled an arrow from his quiver and loaded his bow. Another series of bangs followed, and my vision changed for a minute; I saw myself and...an elf, and we were in a caverned area and the same noise came. I heard the elf call out my name and it said that the monster was a cave-troll. My vision went back to normal. I felt a little weak, but strong enough to keep going, and I shouted out to Gandalf, "Gandalf! They have a cave-troll! We have to get out of here, now!" Legolas gave me a weird look, before turning to the more pressing matters at hand.

"I have a bad feeling about this one," Rini shouted. "What do we do?"

I looked back at her and shouted, "No clue! This is a first for me!"

Gimli jumped up from his kneeling position and shouted out a battle cry, "Let them come! There's one dwarf yet in Moria who still draws breath!" Just as he said that, however, the Orcs and whatever else was behind the door began to break it down. _Well, this isn't good..._I thought. I readied my glaive, and Rini drew her sword. Aragorn produced a bow and loaded it with an arrow. I could see through a really tiny crack in the door that there was something big. I waited for the crack to get bigger so I could blast it open, and eliminate everything in there.

The Orcs' weapons began to show through the door, and the door began to splinter. As soon as the door broke down, I blasted my Silence Glaive Surprise attack at the Orcs, and watched them disintegrate into blood and guts and ashes. It was pretty gross, but at least it was something. _Pat on the back, 'Taru_ I thought. Unfortunately, it wasn't over yet; more Orcs continued to pour through the doorway, and Aragorn and Legolas let their arrows fly. I kept blasting at the Orcs, and Rini kept her sword going so fast, I could barely see it.

Frodo and Sam ganged up on one of the larger Orcs; it was actually pretty funny to watch, in a weird and kinda strange way. They stabbed in from both sides, and leapt back before the Orc exploded. One of the Orcs kicked me pretty hard, and my glaive fell out of my hand. It felt like the wind had been knocked out of me! I knew I couldn't let my guard down, so I grabbed my bow off my back, loaded it, and shot off arrows; one after the other.

I ran over to the other side of the tomb to try and help out the others, but I was too late; I saw the cave-troll standing over Aragorn's unconscious body, and while Frodo tried to run under its arm, the troll stabbed him, and it was Frodo's turn to fall down. I tried to go and help, but two Orcs kept me busy by occupying me.

Gandalf killed the Orcs that he was dealing with, made his way over to Frodo, gave me a hand with mine, and then we started to deal with the cave-troll. Rini, Aragorn, and the rest of the Fellowship followed closely behind us. Gandalf fired a well-timed spell towards its body, and I attacked with my Silence Glaive Surprise attack. Rini blasted it with the moon's power in her sword, and the rest of the Fellowship followed up with their attacks. After all that, the cave-troll finally fell, but that was the least of our problems. We ran over to Frodo, and Aragorn gently picked him up, and sure enough, we could hear Frodo's breathing.

Sam sighed in relief, ""He's alive."

Frodo said that he was all right, but I said, "How could you survive something like that? That spear could have skewered a dinosaur and served it for dinner!"

Rini laughed, and some of the Fellowship smiled a little, before Gandalf said, "I think there's more to this Hobbit than meets the eye." He then lifted up Frodo's shirt, and I saw something white with a gold collar underneath his shirt.

"Mithril." Gimli said in awe as he looked at the powerful armor, "You are full of surprises, Master Baggins." He told him with a smile. The smile fell as more Orcs could be heard outside the tomb coming to attack us.

"Well, this definitely not good," Rini shouted. "What do we do now?"

Gandalf looked around with worry all over his face at the screeching that was sounded close, "To the Bridge of Khazad-dûm." he told them and lead the Fellowship as we ran from the tomb, lots of Orcs following behind us, "This way!" Gandalf shouted.

Orcs came from all directions, but we managed to fight them off. That is, until we came to a bridge with lots and lots of magma underneath. Something big rose up from the magma. "A Balrog," Gandalf sighed. "A demon of the ancient world. This foe is beyond any of you. Run!" he shouted.

Rini and I were frozen in fear. The Balrog looked bigger and badder than anything I've seen; this thing made Pharaoh 90 look like a child's toy! I turned to look at the Hobbits and could see that they were scared out of their wits. Gandalf ushered us through the door to Khazad-dûm. He told Aragorn and Boromir to lead the way. I couldn't help but feel this overwhelming sense of dread. Another bridge lay in front of us; I sprinted across it, Legolas jumped, and Rini nearly fell off! I almost screamed, but Legolas managed to get Rini up onto the ground. The fire underneath the bridge was starting to get bigger, and Gandalf shouted, "Over the bridge! Fly!" The sense of dread got worse, and Gandalf started to stare the thing down.

The Balrog stood up on its hind legs; making it look even more larger and fierce as it engulfed itself in flames. Gandalf bellowed, "I am a servant of the Secret Fire, wielder of the flame of Anor." The Balrog moved in to attack Gandalf but he lit the crystal at the end of his staff so it was shining as bright as the moon. Gandalf then continued, "The dark fire will not avail you, flame of Udûn!"

While the Balrog still tried to produce a weapon, a sword of flame crashed down onto the staff causing a small explosion and what seemed like lightning to leap from the staff and strike the Balrog. Aragorn ran down the stairs and stopped at the bottom, looking on in fear. "Go back to the Shadow." Gandalf said in a loud commanding voice as the Balrog drew forth a flaming whip, cracking it off the stone wall behind it. Gandalf drew up to his full height, "You shall not pass!" he shouted and slammed his staff down on the bridge in front of him, causing an explosion of white light to erupt from the force of the spell. The Balrog leapt towards Gandalf, and I knew what was going to happen before it did. The Balrog cracked the whip again, behind Gandalf, and the foundation of the rock holding him up collapsed, and he fell into the murky blackness below.

"Gandalf!" Rini, the Hobbits, and I shouted out. We made to run towards him, but I got stopped by Legolas, Rini by Aragorn, and the Hobbits by Boromir. That didn't stop me from kicking and screaming, though. I could feel the tears cascading down my cheeks, but I didn't care. As soon as we got out of there, Legolas let go of me, and I ran over to a corner and sobbed my heart out.

"He's not dead. He's not dead." I whispered in between sobs. I could feel gentle hands on my back; I thought it was Rini, but when I turned around, it was Legolas. He quickly, but gently wiped my tears away, and then I knew that we had to go on. I heard Aragorn mentioning something about going to some place called Lothlórien, before I heard him talk to Legolas in Elvish, and Aragorn said something about how we're meant to lose the people we love. I remembered Michiru-mama saying something like that, and I didn't get it at first. Now, however, I realize what she meant. Aragorn got Frodo's attention, and I could Frodo's tears silently cascading down his face.

**A/N: OK...these long chapters really do a number on my brain...I've been working on this one for weeks, though, so...yeah. Anywho, R&R! Thanks :D**


	9. A Very Wet Shock

**Rini/Sailor Mini Moon POV**

I couldn't believe Gandalf was dead. It was shocking, but I think out of all of us, Gandalf's death hit Hotaru and Frodo the hardest. Hotaru did her best to hide it, but I could easily see that she was grieving. I began to regret what it was that I had said about her beginning to change; after all, people change, and best friends are supposed to go ahead and deal. I wanted to say something, but the words couldn't seem to form.

We continued to follow Aragorn down the rocky landscape until we reached some stream called Nimrodel, which was on the end of a place called Lothlorien. Aragorn ran ahead of us and stared down into the clear, calm waters of Nimrodel before saying, "We will rest for a moment to check and heal our wounds, but then we must move on. Lothlórien is just beyond this stream." We all sat down with relief...well, not all of us, Hotaru went over to the stream and sat down on a rock nearby. Aragorn came towards me, and that's when I noticed a really deep gash on my arm, just above the elbow. He grabbed a rag, soaked it in the stream, and said, "Rub around the wound, and then keep it pressed on there to stop the bleeding and any infection that might occur."

I smiled and said, "Thank you." I felt close to Aragorn; he was like the big brother I never had.

**The Time & Space Gate; Sailor Pluto's POV**

I realized what I had done. I screwed up, and sent Hotaru and Rini to who-knows-where. I couldn't forgive myself, and I tried to find them, but couldn't. I had no idea how I was going to tell Haruka, Michiru, or any of the other scouts that I screwed up, and that's if they didn't already know. I sighed, and began to pace.

I heard something; it sounded like big feet were coming towards the time-space gate, and that definitely wasn't good. I readied myself for battle, and yelled out, "Whoever you are, show yourself!" Little did I know what was coming.

Big things that were covered in weird, slimy stuff. They were carrying swords, axes, bows and arrows, and lots of other weapons. I started to fight them off, but I didn't know how much longer I could hold them off.

**Hotaru/Sailor Saturn POV**

The scenery in the area that we were in was actually very pretty. The lights reflected off of the stream shone on the rocks, and it was nice and cool. I sat down on a rock, and I couldn't help but begin to cry again. I could feel the tears silently cascading down my cheeks. I got up, went closer to the stream, and sat down just a few feet away from it. The water was so clear and calm. I wondered how Rini felt about Gandalf's death, but I decided to drop it; I was already upset enough as it was. I pulled out my flute and began to play it.

(a/n: the song is "Kataritsugu Koto" and it's from the anime "Blood+; this is the English translation)

"_How many tears have I spilled,_  
_The night of a new month was born on the sea,_  
_Words were spun in the distance,_  
_Telling stories_  
_A former person here,_  
_My chest secretly seems that it is stretching so that it will burst open,_  
_While I play my song,_  
_To what kind of place must I also carry this kick in my hand?"_

I played this over and over again, but my stress just wouldn't seem to lift that easily. I felt a tap on my shoulder. I put my flute down, and I saw that it was Legolas. "Is there something I can help you with?" I asked.

He hesitated for a minute, before saying, "Shouldn't I be asking you that? You've been acting rather strange lately."

I sighed, "A lot has been on my mind." I fidgeted with my flute in my hands, and could feel more tears going down my cheeks again. I really hated crying in front of other people_._ Legolas reached over and gently wiped my tears away. "Thank you," I said. "Sorry I snapped at you earlier, but like I said, a lot has been going on, and it's kind of overwhelming and hard to take in."

"I suppose I know how you feel," Legolas said. That's when he looked at my flute and said, "How strange. My father had a flute that looked just like that."

I was at a loss for words, so I said the first thing that came to mind, "Had? Did he lose it or something?"

Legolas looked back at the stream. "No," he said, "My father past away a few thousand years ago."

"Oh," I said. There wasn't really much to say from that point, so again, I improvised, "Well, I have a question. Remember that night when you first heard me play my flute? It seemed as if you knew the song that I was playing. Did you?"

His eyes widened in surprise, but he said, "Yes; my father used to play it for me. It's an old Elvish lullaby. How do you know it?"

"Well, I didn't know that," I said, "My father taught me how to play it and would play it before I went to bed. My father said that someone named Paul taught her how to play it, but at this point, I'm just not sure."

Legolas said, "Do you mind if I see it?" I looked at him for a second before saying, "Um...sure, you can see it." I handed it to him, and he took it into his hands. He turned it around in his hands, and said, "There's writing on the back of it, did you see?"

I replied, "Yes. It says something along the lines of 'believe.' Why?"

"No reason," he stated. He continued to turn it around in his hands before he situated his hands on it, closed his eyes, and began to play. I was shocked, not because I knew the song, but because he knew it, too!

(a/n: the song is "Hibiki no Shirabe" from "Hyakujuu Sentai Gaoranger; again, the English translation)

"_If you listen closely_  
_Perhaps you would hear a voice in the wind, calling you_

_Go..._  
_For there you shall find true real peace_

_The promise shall be fulfilled through our prayers which travel through time_  
_Take a deep breath,_  
_and let your spirit resound_

_A song from days so distant reaches the heart_  
_The sound of a flute from afar echoes through the valleys_

_Go..._  
_For there you shall discover the beauty of life_

_Until the promise is fulfilled sorrow shall remain_  
_In spite of the transience of things, reach beyond the bounds of time_  
_and let your spirit resound_"

I looked down at the river and closed my eyes and softly hummed the song to myself as I remembered Haruka-papa teaching me this song. I felt almost as if this was all a dream, at least, I did, before my vision changed. I saw more elves in a forest-type area, and I was there, too! I had a bow and arrows, and I saw something dark and strange move through the dark, slicing through all of the other elves; barely missing me and the elf I was next to! I pulled out of the vision, and felt my body slide off of the ground and into the water. I blacked out.

**Rini/Sailor Saturn POV**

I began to walk around and examine Nimrodel. It was such a beautiful area; it felt like a dream. Rather, it did, until I heard someone playing a flute. I thought it was Hotaru, so I turned around, but it was Legolas. I was about to turn to Aragorn, but just before I got the chance to say anything, I heard this big _splash!_. I thought it was more Orcs, but when I turned around, Hotaru wasn't sitting next to Legolas. She somehow fell into the water, and her eyes were closed in an expression full of excruciating pain.

What happened next should not have been possible. I ran as fast as my short legs could carry me, dived into the water, but I couldn't pull Hotaru out. I guess I should have believed Raye when she said that if you try to pull a "dead weight," it's only going to weigh you down. I began to tread water and shouted out, "Help! Hotaru is in here, and I'm having a hard time getting her out! Help!" Sure enough, the person who came by to help was...

Legolas. He took one look at me, then at Hotaru, and then grabbed one of her hands and started to pull her out of the water. I grabbed the other and helped, and we brought her back onto dry land together. Hotaru was so wet; I could tell it wasn't just the water, though. It looked as if she had been crying or something, and her face was still in that expression of someone in excruciating pain.

I held Hotaru's hand and said, "Please, Hotaru, wake up! I'm sorry about what I said, but please wake up! You're my best friend; I don't want to lose you again! HOTARU!" Still, my pleas didn't seem to help. I put a hand in front of her face to see if she was breathing; and she wasn't. I thought she must have drowned or something. I shouted at Legolas, "Legolas, get over here! Now!" He ran over to her, and I could tell he was nervous. I shouted, "What happened? Did she have another vision?"

Legolas hesitated for a minute before saying, "I'm not sure. She showed me her flute, I began to play it, and then _this_ happened. That's beside the point, though." He reached into what looked like a small bag, and pulled out a small leaf. Legolas then reached into his quiver and pulled an arrow out. "I'm going to have to make a small cut on her arm," he said, "then I'll put this leaf into her arm; it has magical properties that should clear the water from her lungs."

"Do what you have to," I replied, "just make it fast!"

Faster than anyone could have done, Legolas made an incision about the size of the arrowhead on his arrow, stuck the leaf in there, and then bandaged it back up. Nothing was happening. "You idiot!" I shouted. "Nothing's happening!" I could feel the tears going down my cheeks, but I didn't care; I just kicked and screamed at him, until I heard what sounded like a big gasp. I turned back to Hotaru as fast as I could. Her face still had the same expression "Hotaru! Are you okay?" I asked.

"Ri...ni...I...can't...see. What...happened? Why...am...I...so...wet? I...can...bare...ly...breathe." Hotaru said, with big gasps in between her words. Legolas placed his hand on Hotaru's forehead, said something in what sounded like Elvish, and her breathing slowed to a calm pace. Her face turned back to a more relaxed expression, and she was fast asleep.

"What did you do to her?" I shouted.

"The leaf alone is not enough; while it clears the water, it doesn't stop any side affects from occurring. I used Elvish magic to put her to sleep. Let her rest for a few hours, and she should be back to normal." He replied. He wiped the tears off of her face, and grabbed a blanket off of one of the horses and placed it over her. I heard him talking to Aragorn in another language, before Aragorn turned and said, "We will have to stop here for the night, and we will continue on our way just before dawn."

I sighed in relief. I was so glad that Hotaru was going to be all right, but I was worried, too. What if...What if these visions actually meant something?

**A/N: Dang, these chappys really do a number on my head. But, since we're at double digit chapters, time to celebrate! What are we going to do? Well...I don't know. What I do know is that you should keep R&R-ing and recommending this to all your FF friends so that this becomes well-known! As for the celebration...that will be discussed in the next chapter. TTFN!**


	10. The Elven City of Lothlorien

**The Next Day: Rini/Sailor Mini Moon POV**

Hotaru was still fast asleep (no surprise there), so Aragorn suggested that she be put on one of the horses, until we got to Lothlorien, and that I sit behind her on the horse and hold onto her to make sure she didn't fall off. She was dry now, which was good. I held on tight to her and the horse. I had no idea that the journey was going to be this intense. I was hoping that maybe this was all a dream; that I'd wake up, and be with Serena and the biggest thing to worry about was whether or not she did her homework. Sadly, that wasn't the case.

The ride (or walk, in some other people's cases) was extremely long. I felt like I was going to fall asleep, but if I did that, then Hotaru wouldn't be supported, and there was a pretty good chance that I would fall off of the horse, so I used all the willpower I had to stay awake. The horses suddenly changed course; we had somehow managed to get onto a grassy area, which later turned into a grassy, shaded area.

I didn't know where we were, but I assumed it was Lothlorien, because I could see little hut-like things near the trees. What I didn't expect, however, was for Gimli to suddenly slow to a stop. "What's wrong, Gimli?" I asked.

He hesitated for a minute before saying, "We're entering Elven territory. This is not good. Allow me to rephrase that; this isn't good for me."

I sighed. So this was Elven territory. I could feel Hotaru stir, and she sat up. "Ugh...Rini, what happened? I don't remember anything. Well, I remember falling in the water, and that's about it."

I said, "Well, you fell in the water, you nearly drowned, almost died, but then Legolas put some weird leaf thingy in your arm, and it expelled the water from your lungs, then you fell asleep."

Hotaru sighed. "**These visions are so taxing...not just physically, but mentally and emotionally as well,**" she said, reverting to Japanese.

"**Tell me about it,**" I replied, "**I wonder what they could mean. Hotaru, what if they're not just dreams?**"

She sighed, told me that she wasn't sure and didn't want to talk about it anymore, so we rode on in silence.

**Hotaru/Sailor Saturn POV**

I thought I heard something; it sounded like a bowstring being pulled back. Legolas had his bow out; loaded and ready. However, shapes began to form in the distance. Elves. Legolas put his bow down, and my guess was that because he knew that if he shot, he would be killed instantly. As the Elves came closer to us, they stopped. One of them-I believe it was the leader-stepped forward and said, "The Dwarf breathes so loud, we could have shot him in the dark." Gimli gave the Elf a sharp glare, before the Elf turned to Legolas and said, "Welcome, Legolas, son of Thranduil."

Legolas replied, "Our Fellowship stands in your debt_._" He sounded a bit...irritated.

The leader addressed himself as Haldir, before continuing with addressing us. He turned to Rini and I and said, "Lady Rini and Lady Hotaru, or Sailors Saturn and Mini Moon. You are known to us, and given safe passage through Lothlorien courtesy of the Lady of the Wood, and the Lord of Lothlórien." Haldir then addressed Aragorn and Boromir, spared a glance at Gimli, then turned to Frodo and said, "You bring great evil with you, and you can go no further."

Aragorn sighed. I guess he expected something like this to happen. Aragorn went up to Haldir, and started talking to him in rapid-fire Elvish. This went on for a while. In the end, Haldir gave in, and let us through into the city of Lothlorien. As we walked in further, Haldir motioned for us to stop. I noticed an Elven man and women setting on what looked like thrones. "May I present," Haldir said,"Lord Celeborn and Lady Galadriel."

The male elf, Lord Celeborn, sighed and said, "The enemy knows you have entered here. What hope you had in secrecy is now gone. Ten there are here, yet eleven there were set out from Rivendell. Tell me, where is Gandalf? For I much desire to speak with him. I can no longer see him from afar."

All of us exchanged a look, before Legolas said, "Lord Celeborn, he was taken by both Shadow and flame. A Balrog of Morgoth. We went without need into Moria." He sounded as if he was trying to fight back tears.

Conversation continued to go on like this, and the Lady Galadriel mentioned something about how if we strayed, all hope would be lost. She then mentioned where we would be sleeping, and ushered us all out.

**A Few Hours Later**

The city seemed to be alive, and not in a good way. The entire city of Lothlorien was filled with sorrow, and you could hear Elves singing just about everywhere. We sat in the area the Elves had made for us to rest. I looked around; I could see Legolas listening to the song with his eyes closed. He opened them, before saying, "A lament for Gandalf."

"What are they saying?" Rini asked.

"I have not the heart to tell you, little one. For me, the grief is still too near." Legolas replied.

I knew what they were saying, but I couldn't bare to say it either. I got up. My head spun a little, but I didn't care. Despite protests from the Fellowship, I walked outside. I needed some fresh air, and I didn't want to cry in front of them anyway. I continued to walk, until I heard the sound of what sounded like a fountain. I followed the sound, only to find Lady Galadriel and Frodo standing in front of it, and looking into the clear depths of the water. It looked as if they had been talking about something important.

"Hotaru!" A voice shouted out. I turned around to see that it was Rini, who then said, "You shouldn't be up and about like this after you nearly drowned; go back to the housing area!"

"Lady Rini, Lady Hotaru, I have important information for you," Lady Galadriel said. She hadn't turned around from the fountain. "I shall start with Lady Rini. Come here, little one."

Rini looked at me, and then I said, "**Well, she said it's important. We might as well hear what she has to say**."

Rini walked over and asked, "What's so important that you have to tell me?"

Lady Galadriel turned around, took a good look at Rini, and said, "Look into my mirror, and tell me what you see." Rini tried to look into the mirror, but it was so high up, she couldn't reach it. I walked over, lifted her up, and then she got a better look. She looked and looked, until she suddenly gasped, jumped out of my hold, and nearly collapsed onto the ground.

"Rini!" I cried. I ran over to her, and saw that she had started crying. My gaze quickly turned to Lady Galadriel, and I said, "What did you do to her?" I was surprised that I had shouted in Elvish, and apparently, so was Rini.

Rini said, "Hotaru. I'm...I'm...I'm related to Aragorn! The mirror, or whatever it is, showed me what looked like a family tree, and Aragorn is my...my...ancestor, and I am the last living descendant of Isildur! That means if he refuses to take the crown, then I become Queen of Isildur and Gondor!"

"Rini will not be forced into taking the throne," Galadriel said, "She has the right to refuse, if she so wishes."

Rini then thanked Galadriel, and told me to tell her everything about what Galadriel said to me, and then went back to the housing area.

"Well, Lady Hotaru. Let me have a look at you." Lady Galadriel asked.

I sighed and turned to face her. She looked at me really hard, before saying, "You've been having visions."

"Yes," I said. "What if I'm going mad or something...what if they actually mean something?"

Lady Galadriel laughed, before replying, "You are not going mad. Look into my mirror, and tell me what you see."

I looked. At first, I didn't see much of anything except for my own reflection. Suddenly, images began to appear.

First, I saw myself when I was about seven in Haruka-papa and Michiru-mama's apartment. Haruka-papa was playing the flute the I carried with me, and when I asked Michiru-mama how Haruka-papa knew how to play it, she said someone named Paul taught her. I asked Haruka-papa about it the next day, and she said that Paul wasn't entirely human, but he was one of the good guys, so we didn't have to worry about him.

The image changed. I was nine, and I walked by Paul's woodcutting shop. I heard him talking to two people. One of them had long blonde hair, pointed ears, and a rather long travelling cloak. The other was dressed entirely in grey, had a long beard, and some kind of staff. I was curious, so I crept around the back of the shop and entered through the back door to listen to what they were saying. What they were saying wasn't in English or Japanese, but strangely enough, I understood it. They were saying something or other about me, and how they were elves or whatever and had business. Paul, who addressed himself as Nibenon, said something about how nothing had changed yet. I decided to let the matter slide, and crept out the back door.

Another image came. This one was just like the dream I had; my first vision. The only difference was, was that there was another person next to me. The image was blurry at first, but then the image cleared up. It was Legolas and I, but the only difference was that we looked a lot younger. We were running up to a man and woman sitting on identical thrones. The man looked so much like Legolas, it was pretty freaky. The woman on the other hand, looked a lot like me! We were running up to them, and the moment that we had made contact with them, a huge thing with impossible speed decapitated them.

I couldn't bear to see anymore, but I knew I had to. The image changed. Legolas and I had blood spatters all over our faces. I was sound asleep in Legolas's arms as he was carrying me over to someone who looked a lot like Gandalf. Turns out, it was. They spoke in rapid-fire Elvish, most of which I couldn't understand at first, but the one thing that I caught was Gandalf saying, "She has seen so much disaster for someone so young. I can make her forget it if you wish, but you must remember that she will remember everything later on." Legolas nodded, and a grey light came from Gandalf's staff.

The mirror then skipped to more recent images. Me speaking Elvish at the doors of Moria, me playing my flute and finding out that Legolas knew the songs, and lots of others. I got up from the mirror and said, "It's impossible. There's no way it can possibly be true!"

The Lady Galadriel looked at me gravely and said, "I'm afraid it is, Lady Hotaru. You are Legolas's younger sister."


	11. Hotaru's Journey: Knowledge

**Hotaru/Sailor Saturn POV**

I couldn't believe it. I was Legolas's younger sister. I felt my knees collapse under me, and I fell down onto my knees. I wondered how it could have been possible, considering I was the daughter of a human, and I was Sailor Saturn. Still, what I was told made some sense; me suddenly knowing how to understand and speak Elvish, me knowing Elvish lullabies, and my heightened senses.

"What I have told you has caused you woe." Lady Galadriel said.

"No," I said, "surprisingly, most of it actually makes some sense. Did my family know? I mean, did my human family know?"

"Yes. Your father, Dr. Suichi Tomoe, and your mother knew as well. Your current adoptive parents, Sailors Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto also knew. Dr. Suichi Tomoe and his wife, as you probably already concluded, are not your real parents."

I could feel tears cascading down my face, but I didn't care. "Who were my real parents?" I asked.

"Your father was Thranduil, the King of the woodland realm of Mirkwood. He has passed on." Galadriel replied.

"And my mother? Who was she?" I asked, trying my best to control myself. I could not afford to faint or start randomly attacking the area. I just...wish I knew this stuff sooner, instead of having to go through all this emotional and physical pain.

"Your mother was fairly unknown, and that was how she liked to be. The name that she remained under was Mirima. She has also passed on. That is all we know of her, I'm afraid." Lady Galadriel said.

I sighed. "I feel like a pawn. I was lied to for my entire life; now, I just don't know who to trust anymore. It's so unfair!"

There was a moment of silence, before I asked, "What will I do if there is a way for me to go back? What will be the consequences?" I asked.

Lady Galadriel said, "Are you sure you want to hear this?"

I thought about it for about half a second, before saying, "My lady, after everything else that has happened, I feel prepared enough to hear this."

She sighed. "Very well, then," she said. "If you return, you will go back to the way you once were; mortal, and having no memory of your brother or this journey altogether. If you stay here, Rini, as well as everyone else whose lives you have touched in your world, will forget all about you."

I wasn't prepared for this. I just sat there in shock, too shocked to speak, think, move, or even cry, but I could feel tears coming down my face.

I could hear people running, but I wasn't sure who they were. I could feel gentle hands holding me, while a voice said, "What has happened to her? I doubt she even realizes what is going on around her."

Lady Galadriel sighed, and replied to the voice, "She has recovered her memories, and wasn't prepared well enough at the time. She saw the death of your parents, as well as images of a destructive past."

"What must I do?" the voice asked.

"Take her to her bed, and stay close by her. Allow her to sleep off the darkness that is clouding her mind, and when she wakes up, she will be as she was." Lady Galadriel said.

I could feel my body being carried. I did not know where I was going. I then felt myself being laid down on what felt like a bed, and felt something warm and soft come over my body. I then heard something; it sounded like...a flute of some sort. I opened my eyes, after what felt like a few hours later, and saw that Legolas was sitting next to my bed, playing the flute. I looked up at him, and said, "Brother."

He stopped playing abruptly, put the flute down, and said, "So, you remember."

"Yes," I replied, "I do. Those visions I kept having...did you know that those would happen?"

He sighed, before saying, "Gandalf told me that you would remember everything at some point. He did not say when, let alone how the memories would come to you."

"I see." I replied. "Could you do something for me? I need my communicator, and your help."

"Why?" he asked.

"I have to talk to them. My...human...parents. I have to ask if they knew. Even if I can only talk for a short time, I have to ask." I said. I could feel myself on the verge of tears.

"You do realize that that sort of thing won't work down here," Legolas replied.

"Which is why I'm asking you. Can't you use some kind of Elvish magic or something to open up the communication thing for even a minute or two?" I asked.

"I can try, but I can't make any promises," he said. "Are you ready? Are you sure you want to do this?"

"No, but I figure it's now or never." I replied.

"You always were a stubborn one." Legolas said. "Never gave up until you got what you wanted. If you remember that one time...

**Flashback**

"Stop it!" I heard someone cry out. I was climbing up a tree when I saw some big elves picking on a young she-elf. I slid down the tree, ran up to the group, and said, "Stop it! Why are you picking on such a young elf?"

"Because," one of them said, "she's weak! We're just proving our point!" The girl whimpered. There was dirt all over her, and she was crying. She looked up at me with pleading eyes.

Legolas ran up to me out of nowhere, grabbed my arm, and said, "Forget about it; she's always been that way. Leave her alone."

I jerked my arm out of his grasp and said, "No! They can't pick on her anymore! She is not weak! She has great power inside her that has yet to be unlocked! All she has to do is believe!"

"Yeah, right," the leader of the bullies said, "Great power, huh? Maybe we could see it."

"Maybe you could see it if you opened your eyes to see how much you were hurting her, you idiots!" I shouted. I walked right up to the group, looked them straight in the eye, and knocked them down. They took one look at me and ran. I sighed to myself, thinking about how glad I was that I had helped the girl.

**End of Flashback**

"So you see, you said and did anything to help those in need and get what you wanted."

"I remember that," I said. "Those bullies were picking on that girl, and I knew that someone had to do something. But that's not the point I'm trying to make here. I want you to use your Elven magic to open up a channel in my communicator so I can talk to my human parents. I have to ask them if they knew."

He sighed. I could tell he didn't want to, but apparently, I won him over, and he said, "Very well then. Put your hand on the communicator and turn it on."

I did so, and I spoke clearly into the communicator, "Saturn calling Uranus or Neptune."

I could feel Legolas's magic circulating through the communicator. It was full of static, but I could hear Haruka-papa reply, "Uranus and Neptune here. Hotaru, I heard Sailor Pluto screwed up again, is that true?"

I sighed; Haruka-papa was always one to get straight to the point. "Yes, but that's beside the point. Haruka-papa. Did you and Michiru-mama know? I mean...did you know the truth about me? What I am?"

Now it was their turn to sigh. Michiru-mama said, "We knew, Hotaru, and it didn't matter to us."

I could feel my shoulders shaking with sobs, and said, "Why didn't you tell me?"

Haruka-papa said, "Hotaru, it wasn't our place to. We told the wizard-person that we promised we'd never speak of it. You remember everything now, don't you?"

"I don't care that it wasn't your place to! You still should have at least said something! Do you have any idea how hard it's been; having these freaky visions tax my energy, people staring at me like I'm some kind of experiment or like I'll collapse any second?" I was nearly about to hurl myself against the wall, if it weren't for the fact that I was being held in my brother's strong grip.

I could hear Haruka-papa and Michiru-mama crying through the communicator. Michiru-mama said, "Hotaru, we_" and the connection got cut off.

I continued to sob and sob and sob. I kicked and cried some more, but Legolas's grip was too strong to let me hurl myself against the wall and start attacking the room. He helped me to lie down, and put the blanket over me. I'm not quite sure what happened next, but I could feel something warm circulating through my body. I could feel my body stop shaking, and my eyes began to close. I could hear the sound of a flute has I drifted off into a comfortable, dreamless sleep.

**The Next Day**

I felt more refreshed when I woke up. Legolas left my flute on the bedside table, and it looked like he had wandered off somewhere. What the Lady Galadriel told me last night still lingered in my mind. I couldn't help but wonder how on earth I was going to tell Rini. The very thought just made me want to forget everything. I got up and went outside; I needed to get some fresh air.

Lothlorien was beautiful at night, but it was especially beautiful during the daytime. The sun shone through the trees; bright, but not too bright. The ponds were so clear; I bet if someone tried hard enough, they could see the bottom. I tried as hard as I could to focus on this, but the consequences of my decision still hung in my mind. I sighed. _Well, 'Taru, you have to do this somehow. Accept that you're Legolas's sister, tell Rini and everyone, and move on. You can do this!_I thought. I wanted to believe that, but...it just didn't feel right. I still hadn't made my decision about whether I would go back or not. Forget about Rini; what was I going to tell Legolas? The fact that he was my older brother...I just didn't know what I was going to say to him about my decision.

I looked down into the water, until I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned around, and it was Legolas. "What is wrong, little sister?" he asked in Elvish. I wanted to tell him the truth so badly, but I just couldn't seem to say anything.

"I don't know." I lied, reverting to English.

I couldn't tell whether or not Legolas could tell I was lying, but he kept quiet about it and said, "There's always some kind of light at the end of the tunnel. We have to pack."

I nodded, and he walked away. I felt bad lying to him like that, but I just didn't know what else to do right now. I started to walk after Legolas, when I felt another hand on my shoulder. It was Rini. "Hey, Hotaru. How are you?"

"Fine." I replied. I was hoping that this wouldn't come...I didn't want to talk to Rini.

I had a feeling she could tell that something was on my mind, so she asked, "Anything interesting happen after I left?"

"Not really," I said. "I just found out more about my heritage."

"Your heritage?" she asked. "What do you mean?"

"Well," I said, pausing to take a deep breath and stop myself from crying, "I have found out that my entire life has been a lie, because I'm not human after all. I'm an elf. Not just that, but I'm Legolas's...sister. Gandalf erased my memories; and those visions were my memories coming back. I didn't want to tell you, because...well...I didn't know what you'd think, and..." I stopped there, and I could already feel myself on the verge of tears.

Rini, apparently, wasn't shocked by this at all. "I guess...I guess I knew, but I wanted to convince myself it wasn't true, you know? When you didn't feel the cold of the snow when it fell on you, I knew something wasn't right. And...when you managed to understand Elvish, I guess that was also part of it. But...you're still my best friend, and nothing's going to change that."

I was literally ready to jump out of my skin. "You mean it?" I asked.

"You bet!" Rini exclaimed.

We were still best friends. I couldn't believe it. The moment was so precious, I couldn't bear to tell her the truth about my decision, so I decided to let it slide for now. I would tell her later.

**A/N: So...I LOVE you guys who have been reading this! It's been a blast writing it for you guys! Mirima was just a random name I found, since Leggy's mom has never been revealed (as far as I know), so...yeah. Not going on my OC list, though, because she isn't that important of a character, and her name is only going to be mentioned once (well, maybe twice, I don't know...). Keep R&R-ing! Thanks, and also, if you like the looks of any of my future FanFics, send me a PM if you want to work with me on one! Thanks! I love my readers (and reviewers, subscribers...the list could go on and on...)! So...I have GOT to shut up now; I'm such a chatterbox.**


	12. Tell the Truth!

**Rini/Sailor Mini Moon POV**

I was so glad that Hotaru told me the truth. Now, it was up to me to do a little truth-telling of my own. I could tell that Hotaru was holding something back, but I didn't want to let it get to me. I told Hotaru I had to go talk to Aragorn about something, and she went over to talk to Frodo and Sam. I walked over to Aragorn, who was talking to Legolas, and I asked, "Um...excuse me. Aragorn, can I talk to you? Now?"

I have a feeling whatever he said to Legolas after I asked Aragorn if we could talk was probably something along the lines of "Just a minute." I couldn't really understand, because they were speaking Elvish, but I just rolled with it. We walked a few yards, before Aragorn asked, "What is it?"

I sighed. "Well, Aragorn, this is going to sound really crazy. You're probably going to think I'm nuts, but here goes: when I talked to Lady Galadriel, I discovered that...I am your last living descendant."

Aragorn, surprisingly, said, "I should have guessed you were related to either Boromir or myself. You mastered swordsmanship very quickly for someone so young. Not only that, but the way you quickly mastered difficult fighting techniques...it's something I should have guessed right from the start. So...I would be your ancestor, then?"

"Yes, because I am from the thirtieth century moon kingdom. Quite a distance into the future...even from the twenty-first century. But...I have one question, though." I looked over at Hotaru, who appeared to be in deep conversation with Frodo and Sam about something or other, and Aragorn seemed to pick up the unspoken question.

"I knew that she was related to Legolas." Aragorn said.

"How do you know?"

"I already knew to begin with. Legolas and I are old friends, and he told me his sister's memories were erased. When he told me, he looked rather upset, and I assumed he was getting over losing his sister at the time. Since Hotaru came here, he has always looked clouded by something or other."

"Okay...but that could have easily been anybody. Hotaru could have just been some random elf her entire life. How do you know that she's Legolas's sister?"

"It's rather a guess than actually knowing, but what I can tell you is that Hotaru knew some of the things that Legolas knew, too. Things such as Elvish lullabies that she played on her flute. Some of those songs were unique to Legolas's family, and the fact that she knew them would have to mean that she was related in some way. When she started having visions of her past, she approached me; telling me that someone in them looked a lot like Legolas. This was while you were avoiding her. That's why she didn't tell you about her visions, out of respect for privacy."

"But why would Legolas act like something strange was happening to her? I mean, couldn't he just tell her?"

"Well, think about it, Princess. Imagine if someone went up to you and spontaneously said 'I am your cousin,' and you didn't even know the person. What would you think about that person?"

I smiled sheepishly. "I guess you're right."

"You just have to listen to your heart. It will guide you."

"Believe me, Aragorn, I'm trying." I looked over at Hotaru, then at Legolas, and then said, "This whole quest...it's going to end up ripping them apart."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, when Hotaru comes back to our world with me, she'll be lost without Legolas, and he'll be lost without her. The brother that she barely got to know, and the sister he barely got to see. It's easy to see that she isn't sure what it is that she wants to do."

I nodded. I then looked over at Hotaru, who had stopped talking to Frodo and Sam, and was currently walking with Legolas.

**Hotaru/Sailor Saturn POV**

I was walking with Legolas through Lothlorien. I looked up at him as we were walking. It looked as though something was on his mind. "What are you thinking about, brother?" I asked.

He appeared to be suddenly jolted out of his thoughts, but he answered me anyway. "Just what is to come on the journey ahead." he answered. He then started fiddling with his bowstring as we walked. I looked around, taking in all the scenery. As I looked towards the stairs leading to the top of the city, I noticed Lady Galadriel walking down the stairs towards us. When she arrived, we bowed to her.

"You bow to no one, Legolas and Hotaru, children of Thranduil, prince and princess of Mirkwood." she said. She took a good look at my brother before saying, "You look troubled by something, Legolas."

He sighed. "Just getting used to having my sister back, Lady Galadriel."

"You feel that if you can successfully protect her, you will be able to forgive yourself for not being able to protect her all those years ago and erasing her memories."

I gasped when Lady Galadriel said that. My brother thought that I was helpless and needed to be protected? I could fight for myself! I wasn't just some helpless bird trapped in a cage! "Brother," I said, "you really feel that way?"

He looked at me with exasperation clear on his face. "Hotaru, this is not the time."

"But it is! You've said your bit, or rather, Lady Galadriel said it for you. You think I'm just some helpless thing constantly needing to be protected! Let me just tell you this: it wasn't because of you that our family died and we had to flee Mirkwood. It was because of me." His eyes widened, and he started to say something, but I continued on, feeling the tears streaming down my face. "Don't lie to me and say it wasn't! I'm sick of the lies, and fed up with you trying to hide the world from me! Don't treat me like some bird, trapped in a cage. On the bright side, I see where I stand now. Right at the bottom, with all the other helpless creatures. Just like that little girl I protected." I began to walk away, but before I was out of earshot, I shouted, "Don't follow me!"

**Rini/Sailor Mini Moon POV**

I was in deep conversation with Frodo and Sam. They were telling me about all the interesting things that were in their hometown known as The Shire, when I heard something that sounded like someone crying and running. I turned around, and saw that it was Hotaru, with Legolas chasing after her, calling her name. He was fast, but he still didn't get to Hotaru. She ran into a deeper part of the forest. He stopped chasing after her when he saw me.

"Princess, I_" he started.

"Save your breath, Legolas. What did you do to her?" I was really beginning to get angry at this point.

"I didn't do anything! Really, I did not. It was all a misunderstanding." And he went on to explain to me what happened. When he did, I was shocked. Not only shocked, but more angry than I was before.

"You said WHAT?" I yelled at him. "Legolas, how could you say something like that and not expect her to run? You wouldn't listen to her; who cares if it wasn't a good time to talk; the least you could have done was straighten things out!" And with that, I was just about to go in to tackle him, when Aragorn came out of nowhere and grabbed me around the waist, restraining me. "Let me go, Aragorn!" I continued to kick and scream, but to no avail. Aragorn and Legolas just started babbling away to each other in rapid-fire Elvish, and after a while, I stopped kicking and screaming. I was out of steam. "Please, Aragorn, put me down. I just want to look for Hotaru. Please."

Aragorn looked at Legolas, who gave Aragorn a look that said "go ahead," and he put me down. I was still angry, but I had much more important things to worry about at the time. I went off into the forest to search for Hotaru. I didn't care if Legolas was following me or not, I just wanted to talk to her. Besides, I had this really bad gut feeling that something bad was going to happen soon, and I had to protect her.

**Hotaru/Sailor Saturn POV**

I was sitting down near a small river, crying. The trees were so dense, there was a lot of shade, and the sunlight barely went through the trees. A perfect hiding spot. Just what I needed. I was so upset. I couldn't believe my own brother thought I was some kind of helpless thing! I could fight, and it was my fault that we had to flee Mirkwood. It was my fault that our parents died. I slightly regretted some of the things I said, I'll admit, but what he said was the worst.

I was hoping everything was all a dream, that I would just be able to wake up and go back to a normal life as Sailor Saturn. As normal as normal gets, at any rate. Maybe if everything was a dream, I could go back and hang out with Rini and the other scouts, and just act like a normal human being**.**Then again, normal isn't really something you can come by much when you're the Sailor Soldier of death and rebirth.

I sighed. I had stopped crying, but the tears were still cascading silently down my face. I really needed to relax. I had a feeling music would help me do that. After all, I usually played my flute when something was on my mind or when I was upset. I got it out and began to play.

(a/n: this song is "Hitohira no Sakura (A Cherry Blossom Petal)," from Clannad. The English Translation)

"_I'll name the story_

_That starts from there 'life'_  
_We struggled, grieved, lost things_  
_Walking on our road_

_'I'll be by your side forever,' that day when I vowed so_  
_Becomes faraway; the wind blows and winter comes about_

_This me knew that I wanted to give you warmth_  
_If I look back, there are distant years_

_Spring comes, and surrounded in the soft fragrance_  
_A single flower flutters, looking down upon me_"

As I played, I thought I heard something. It sounded like someone with big feet. Really big feet, to be exact. I thought it was one of the Hobbits, so I put my flute down, and shouted, "Hello? Is anybody there?" But no one responded, and the sound continued to come closer and closer, until a shape began to form in a distance. It was big, tall, wide, and had long hair and what looked like claws. I could tell it wasn't anybody from the Fellowship, so I got into my fighter's stance and readied my glaive.

However, what I thought was some_one_ was actually _something_. Make that a bunch of _somethings_. More and more shapes that looked just like the first one that I saw. They were Uruk Hai, no doubt sent by Saruman. I had seen them somewhere before, but now wasn't the time to wonder where and when. I stared them down, before one of them fired an arrow that nearly hit me. I somersaulted out of the way, before attacking with my Silence Glaive Surprise attack. One down, about...thirty more to go. Just wonderful.

I continued to blast them down with Silence Glaive Surprise, but more and more Uruk Hai continued to come into the forest. I knew I couldn't keep this up forever. I was trying to catch my breath, but just as I was getting ready to attack, one of the Uruk Hai shot an arrow into my left leg, right near the femoral artery. Thank goodness Amy taught me more about bio, because I knew that if a wound to the femoral artery was left untreated for a long time, it could become fatal. I continued to blast the Uruk Hai until I couldn't take it anymore. I had no choice. I had to use my secret weapon: my Death Reborn Revolution. It would destroy everything I could see, including all the Uruk Hai I hadn't seen yet. However, it would destroy me along with it. While I would be reborn, I didn't know how long that would take. I decided that I might as well do it; it's not like I had anything to say bye to, anyway.

I ran (well, rather, limped) to a tree, hid behind it, and began to charge up my glaive for my Death Reborn Revolution. Thank goodness the Uruk Hai weren't that smart and didn't think to bother looking through the whole area for me; I'd have been a goner. A few seconds later, it was ready. I jumped out of my hiding spot, and shouted, "Hey, freaks! Over here!" They quickly turned their heads toward my voice and began to charge. I figured it was now or never, and if I was going to go down, I might as well go down fighting. I started to shout out, "Death Reborn_" but I was interrupted. Someone tackled into me and knocked me down to the ground. My glaive was knocked right out of my hands, and it landed a few feet away. I looked down to see who it was, and it was...

Legolas and Rini. Quite the surprising team-up if you ask me, but now clearly wasn't the time to wonder about that. Rini took one look at me, then looked at the Uruk Hai, and started to take them out one by one. Legolas on the other hand; well, he was a different story. He looked angry, and I could see tears going down his face. "Are you insane? You could have died! What were you thinking?" he shouted in Elvish.

I was in so much pain at this point, but I managed to tell him, "Why do you care? You just think I'm your helpless little sister, after all. At least, that's what you said, and you just love to speak your mind. Besides, even if I die, at least you and the rest of the Fellowship can go on and carry on the rest of the quest!" I gasped at this point; the pain was beginning to escalate, and I was losing a lot of blood. I could tell Legolas wanted to say something or other, but now really wasn't the time. He took one look at the wound, then looked at my face, and a panicked look quickly took over his face.

"Princess!" he shouted over to Rini.

Rini just stabbed an Uruk Hai through the back and shouted, "Kinda busy, Legolas! What is it?" Then another Uruk Hai went back to attack her, and she went back to fighting.

"Princess, go get someone from the Fellowship, and have them take Hotaru back with them. I can fight them off for a little while, but I need you to be fast!"

Rini stabbed another one, and said, "No! I'm not leaving Hotaru! Not while she's this badly wounded! You can't make me!" And just as she said that, she began to glow with a bright, pink light. When the light faded, Rini was still wearing her Scout uniform, but she had wings! She had become Eternal Sailor Mini Moon! She kept on fighting, but I could tell she needed help. I had to do something.

I tried to stand back up, but my leg was in so much pain, I could barely stand. I almost collapsed onto the ground when Legolas caught me and prevented me from falling. My vision was beginning to get hazy, and I was starting to feel dizzy. My leg felt like it was burning up. "Ri...ni," I said, trying to breathe through the pain, "just...go. I'll...be...fine. Please." I couldn't take anymore. I couldn't really feel a lot of my surroundings, but I knew that I was screaming at this point. Rini took one look at me, and then jumped up and took flight with her new wings to get help. My vision was really starting to go at this point. I could barely breathe or feel my body, let alone my surroundings. I was in so much pain, I just wanted to end it with Death Reborn Revolution.

"Hotaru, stay with me! Hotaru!" I heard a voice shouting. I couldn't really understand what was going on. I thought I heard that voice again, but maybe it was Death's voice, coming to welcome its warrior to the great beyond. I just tried to close my eyes, but I heard people shouting; calling my name, and I knew that I shouldn't. My chest was really beginning to hurt, and I could feel my heart practically beating out of my chest. I closed my eyes and blacked out.

**One Day Later: Hotaru/Sailor Saturn POV**

I finally regained feeling in my body. I felt really weak. My arms and legs felt like Jell-O, and my head felt really heavy and hurt quite a bit. I struggled to open my eyes. When I did, the light was alarmingly bright. I was in a white room with sunlight streaming through the windows. There was what looked like a small table a few feet in front of me. I was lying down on what felt like a cot of some sort. I struggled to sit up, ignoring the pain that sliced through my head. A hand grabbed my shoulder, before saying, "Don't. You're only going to make the pain worse."

I whipped my head around to see that Legolas was standing there, and a wave of nausea swept through me. "Legolas. What the...where am I?"

"You're in one of the safe houses in Lothlorien. The Princess went to get Aragorn and Boromir to help us fight off the Uruk Hai. They killed most of them. A fair few of them retreated into the distance. You are safe now, and that's what matters."

I breathed a sigh of relief and lay back down on the cot. "And...Rini? Is she...all right?"

"Everyone is fine. You should be more worried about yourself; you nearly died back there."

I looked up at the ceiling. "That...may be true...but...I am...prepared to...accept...my...fate. Whether it's death...or life. After all...I am...the soldier...of death...and rebirth. It's...my job...to protect...others, and...to be prepared...to be...welcomed into...death's arms. And...nothing can...be reborn...without being...destroyed...first." I had to breathe through every few words; I felt really weak.

Legolas looked at me strangely, before saying, "Hotaru, I...you misunderstood what I said earlier."

I weakly turned my head to face him. "I...know. What...you meant...to say...was that you...thought...it was your...fault about what happened...to our family. It's...not. There's...nothing either of us...could have done." I said in Elvish. My head felt cold with sweat.

Legolas took one look at me, and it looked like he was about to say something, when Rini burst into the room. "**Hotaru! Are you all right? What happened?**" Rini asked in Japanese. She walked over to me and gently held my right hand, and put something in there. I didn't want to see what it was just yet, though.

"**Rini. I'm...fine**. **I just feel...really weak. My head feels...so cold.**" I replied in the same language. I was struggling to keep my breathing at a good pace.

Rini looked around the room, and ran off for a second. She quickly came back with what looked like a warm cloth and a cup of water. "Here," she said, "sip it slowly, okay? You HAVE to get better soon! Not just for the quest, but so we can go back home, too! Besides, I don't want to be the only one who gets yelled at."

I smiled weakly, before getting myself into a comfortable sitting position and taking the water from her. I slowly drank the whole thing. I lay back down on the cot, and Legolas put the cloth on my forehead. It felt really warm and nice. "Right," Rini said to Legolas, "I have to go tell Aragorn that Hotaru's awake, but we may need to stay for another day or so, okay?" He nodded, and with that, Rini left.

I didn't want to tell Rini that I wasn't sure where home was, let alone whether I was going to go back or not. I looked down into my hand and saw that she put my flute in there. I turned my head away from Legolas, and saw that my glaive was up against the wall. I felt really weak. "You look pale, still." Legolas said. "You must rest. It's the only way you will get better faster."

I sighed. "I think...you're right." I started to put my flute on the table next to my cot, before Legolas held out his hand in front of me. I weakly smiled, before handing him my flute.

"You're going to be all right," Legolas said. He got the flute situated in his hands and put it to his lips. "You must rest, first, though." The moment he said 'rest,' something clicked in my head. I just realized I never remembered my name from when I was little. I remembered everything else except for my name. I decided it was better I would ask him later. I already felt my eyes beginning to close, as I fell asleep to a beautiful melody.

**One Day Later: Hotaru/Sailor Saturn POV**

Lady Galadriel and Lord Celeborn finally said that I had recovered enough to continue on with the Fellowship. I'll have to admit, I was really scared; I thought they would make me stay in Lothlorien with them! I really didn't want to do that. I wanted to continue on with the rest of the Fellowship to destroy the ring. It would restore peace to this world, and then Rini and I would be able to go back to our world. Rather, Rini would be able to go back to her world. I still wasn't sure about what I would do. Especially with the consequences about my decision.

I was taken out of my thoughts by the voice of Lord Celeborn. We were outside with the rest of the Fellowship, and the Lord and Lady Galadriel were getting ready to send us off. "I have prepared four boats to help you along the River Anduin. Also, the Elves of Caras Galadhon have put together some provisions for your journey. I wish you all the blessings of the Elves for your journey. May it be safe and fulfilling." The Elves around him then placed cloaks fastened by a broach that looked like a leaf around us. "Never before have we clad strangers in the garb of our own people. May these cloaks help shield you from unfriendly eyes. Every league you travel south, the danger will increase." Lord Celeborn said this with fear in his voice as he stopped walking and turned to Aragorn, handing him an Elven knife with runes all up the blunt side above the blade. "You are being tracked_._" Lord Celeborn said in Elvish. Aragorn re-sheathed the blade then the Lord reverted back to English. "By river you have the chance of outrunning the enemy to the Falls of Rauros."

"**Hotaru**," Rini said in Japanese, "**What are they saying? That bit in Elvish...I can't understand it.**"

"**They're saying that we're being tracked. I have a feeling the others know by who, but I can't quite place it.**" I replied. I wasn't sure who was tracking us, and frankly, I didn't want to stay behind long enough to find out.

Lady Galadriel asked all of us to line up, and she walked up to Legolas first. "My gift to you, Legolas, is the bow of the Galadhrim. Worthy of the skill of our woodland kin." She handed him the bow, and I looked at it in awe. Legolas ran his hands up and down the spine, which was covered in Elven runes. She then walked up to Rini, and said, "My gift to you, Princess of the future moon, is the Hadhafang sword. You show courage and loyalty, and this sword will help you to show it even more." Rini looked at the sword with amazement clear in her eyes. The blade was slightly curved, and had a wood grip with an Elven design on it. There was Elvish writing on the blade that translated to, "This blade is called Hadhafang, a noble defense against the enemy throng for a noble lady."

After Rini, Lady Galadriel walked over to Merry and Pippin, and gave them the "Daggers of the Noldorin." Apparently, according to the lady, the daggers had seen service in war before. To Sam, she gave him an Elven rope made of hithlain, a very strong material. Finally, Lady Galadriel walked over to me. "To you, Princess Claeva, I give you the gem of the stars. Place this upon your weapon, and you will be able to see the light, even in the darkest of times."

"Wait," I said. "Claeva? That's not my name. My name is Hotaru."

"Hotaru is your human name. Your birth name, on the other hand is Claeva."

"Claeva. Claeva." I said to myself, trying out the name. It sounded nice; almost...me. I was still used to Hotaru, though. I wasn't sure which one I wanted to go by.

Lady Galadriel walked over to Frodo last. "Farewell, Frodo Baggins. I give you the Light of Eärendil, our most beloved star. May it be a light for you in dark places when all other lights go out." She then handed him a large glass vial that was filled with shimmering water. He smiled sadly at her. Aragorn said that it was time for us to be on our way, so we went over towards where the other elves had prepared a couple of boats for us, and began to load them.

**A/N: OK, I am well aware that this was long. Maybe too long. I think that it was a good chapter, though, and credit goes to all the websites I found on Google for the info about wounds to the femoral artery, unconsciousness, arrowheads, and all that other fun stuff that I don't feel like mentioning. What else...oh yeah! Again, one of the best presents for my birthday would be some reviews! Also, I will be starting a Sherlock (BBC Sherlock) story starring my OC, Thalia! I would love to work on that with someone, so please let me know if you're interested! Thanks, and R&R!**


	13. The Wrath of a Friend

**A/N: So...thought I was done with this story? Nice try, but nope, not done. At least not yet. I had to abandon this story for a while to take my semester exams and work on drafting other stories (see future FFs in my profile). R&R!**

**kanna does not own Sailor Moon or Lord of the Rings...blah, blah, blah.**

**Rini/Sailor Mini Moon POV**

We were loading luggage on the boats. Since there were ten of us, and we didn't want to slow the boats down with the weight of five people in each, we put Sam, Frodo, and Aragorn in one boat, and Boromir, Merry, and Pippin in the other. The third boat would be carrying me, Hotaru, Gimli, and Legolas. Most of the luggage was quite heavy. You couldn't help but wonder if someone decided to keep the body of an orc as a souvenir and stuff it somewhere.

Once all the luggage was loaded, we began to paddle down the River Anduin. I think that's what Lady Galadriel called it. I looked back at the land over my shoulder, which was slowly shrinking in the distance. I could see what looked like Lady Galadriel waving at us. I thought of my gift, and I could see that the rest of the Fellowship who had received gifts from the Lady were also thinking about their gifts.

I turned to look at Hotaru, who was looking over the side of the boat. The gem of the stars was in her hands. It was a green gem, about the size of an egg, and the shape of an egg, too. It looked very pretty. I had to ask her about my sword, though. There was some kind of writing on it that looked like it was in Elvish. "Hotaru," I said. No response. "Hotaru? Hello, earth to Hotaru!" Still no response.

"You'll have to excuse the bloody elves," Gimli said. "When they get lost in their own thoughts, they tend to stay there for quite some time."

"Is it something I can answer?" Legolas asked as he was paddling.

The elves had to be mind-readers or something, but I went ahead and asked anyway. "Yes, actually. I've been looking at the sword that I got from Lady Galadriel, and I have no idea what it says on the back. I think it's in Elvish. Could you translate it for me?" I asked.

"I'll look at it when we get onto land," Legolas replied. We continued on in silence, and Hotaru still hadn't moved an inch. I was beginning to worry. I tapped her on the shoulder, and she finally jerked up and turned around. She looked a little pale and sweaty, but I thought she was seasick or something, so I let it slide. Then again, I didn't know if Elves could get seasick or not.

We traveled down the river in silence for what felt like a few hours. Hotaru occasionally turned around and looked at the land. I assume that she'd heard something. Suddenly, I heard it, too. It was a horrible screeching sound. "**Hey, Hotaru**," I asked in Japanese, "**what's that sound? It sounds awful!**"

She sighed. "**Orc screeches**," she replied. "**Either someone's helping us out and killing them for us, or that's a battle cry, and I'm going to go with the second one. The Uruk-Hai are there, too.**"

"**Uru...what? What are Uru...um, whatever you called them?**"

"**You might say that they're advanced breeds of Orcs. They serve Sauron and Saruman. In Quenya, the word 'Uruk' translates to Orc from the word 'Urko,' and 'Hai' means folk.**"

"**So what you're saying is that the Uruk-Hai are Orc folk, but an advanced breed. How Saruman or Sauron could create something like that is just beyond me.**"

"**They used dark magic and elves.**" I looked at her in confusion, and she continued with, "**Yes. The Orcs were elves once. They were taken by the Dark Powers and tortured til they died. Then, they were mutilated.**"

"**Hotaru, how do you know that,**" I asked. I doubt that she knew something like that growing up, but I had to ask. She might have had another vision.

"**Because,**" she replied, paused for a minute, and then reverted to English and said, "I remember reading something about it in one of the Elvish books from back when I was little."

I doubted that that was the case, but I could tell that Hotaru wasn't exactly up to talking about it. She looked back out at the water. I looked over at Legolas who seemed just as confused as I was. Gimli was just minding his own business. I had so many questions to ask Hotaru, but she didn't want to talk for some reason. I had to find out what was going on.

We rode on in silence. The orcs and the Uruk Hai chased our boats on land, but luckily, the current was on our side. We managed to get safely away from them, but I had a feeling that they would still be looking for us. As night began to fall, Aragorn led us to shore and made sure that me, Hotaru, and the rest of the hobbits got somewhere safe quickly. The others followed us in a few minutes, and we set up camp for the night. We would leave at dawn to avoid the enemy.

I could tell that Hotaru was worried about something or other. Rather, a bunch of somethings. She was talking to Sam when I was just about to go over to talk to her, when Aragorn walked up to me, and said, "I understand that you are worried about your friend. However, you have to let her be and let her go through this herself."

I sighed. "Aragorn," I said, "I don't know what's going on, but there's something she isn't telling me. She's been acting really strange ever since we left Lothlorien. You can't blame me for being worried."

"Lady Hotaru-rather, Lady Claeva-is strong. She can handle herself. You have to trust that."

I knew he was right. That didn't mean I wanted to believe him. "**Aragorn**," I started in Japanese, "**you idiot. Idiot, idiot, idiot, idiot.**" I walked away to go and talk to Sam with Hotaru, when I noticed Boromir looking at a tree that fell into the water. "Boromir," I asked, "what are you looking at?"

"It's Gollum, Princess," he said. "He's been tracking us ever since we left Moria. I had hoped we would lose him on the river, but he's just too clever. If he alerts the enemy to our whereabouts, crossing the river will be even more dangerous."

Well, that certainly was a pleasant thought. I sighed, before looking for Sam. When I found him, he wasn't talking to Hotaru. Now, it looked like he was trying to get Frodo to eat, but Frodo wouldn't eat. "Frodo," I cut in, "you have to eat something. There's no way you'll get too far on an empty stomach."

"Miss Rini's right, Frodo," Sam added.

"Sam, Rini, I'm fine. Go get some sleep," Frodo grumbled.

I exchanged a look with Sam, and then he went to get some sleep. I heard what sounded like Boromir and Aragorn arguing. Something about Minas Tirith being the safer road, and Boromir calling Aragorn a coward. It was getting late. I went back to where I set up my stuff, and sure enough, Hotaru was there. However, she didn't quite look like herself. For one thing, she looked a lot paler than normal, and for another, her eyes. They weren't the normal dark color they usually were. They were a cold, icy, stormy gray. She was mumbling to herself, and her voice sounded much deeper. About a few seconds later, though, she collapsed. I went over to her, and gently her by the shoulder, and when she opened her eyes, the first words out of her mouth were in Japanese, and they were, "**Please don't tell anyone!**"

"**Well, Hotaru,**" I said in the same language,** "I can't say anything to anyone unless you tell me what's going on. What are you trying to hide?**"

She took a deep breath, looked around, switched to English, and was about to say, "I-" before she noticed Legolas within earshot, and switched back to Japanese. "**I think...something's taking me over. Rather, someone. What did I look like when you saw me?**"

"**Well, your eyes were a weird shade of gray, you looked really pale, and you were mumbling to yourself. Your voice sounded really deep.**"

She took a sharp intake of breath, and said, "**No. This can't be happening. I can't be-**"

"**Can't be what?**"

Hotaru looked me straight in the eye and said, "**I can't be being taken over by Saruman. I had feared this from when we first went on the boat to come here. That weird presence inside me; there's no doubt it's him.**"

My eyes widened in shock. "**Why would Saruman want to take you over?**"

"**I don't know. What I do know is that there was a rumor going around that he sent the mercenary who killed my family and all the other elves of Mirkwood. Maybe he wants to use me to eliminate all of us completely. Remember when I was out of it on the way here? I think I was seeing the Orcs through Saruman...seeing the Uruk Hai through his eyes and speaking to them. It's weird. You have to promise not to tell anyone.**"

"**Not even Legolas?**"

"**Especially Legolas! He would freak! I'm already freaked out enough by this as it is, and-**" Hotaru choked back a sob.

"**It's okay. Let it out**," I said. With that, Hotaru threw her arms around me and began to cry. I had never seen her like this. She was so scared, and I was scared for her. Saruman...I didn't know much about him, but from what I gathered as much, he wasn't a good guy. Heck, anybody who used Dark Magic without some legit excuse probably wasn't a good guy. Hotaru cried and cried and cried. All I could do was just hug her back and tell her everything was going to be okay somehow, but even I wasn't sure that was true. I think she knew it wasn't going to be, but just went along with it anyway.

"Is something the matter," a voice asked. I turned my head and saw that it was Legolas. Hotaru's sobs had quieted down, but she looked terrible; that's for sure. She was still crying, but she looked up enough to look at me.

We exchanged a quick look, before I said, "**No-**I mean, nothing. Just a bad dream. Nothing to worry about." I was a terrible liar; you could tell I was lying when I mixed up my languages. Apparently, Legolas didn't think much of it, or he did, but didn't show it. Either way, he looked at Hotaru. Hotaru looked right back at him, and her eyes flashed that same gray color again, before they finally went back to normal.

"Claeva," Legolas started.

"I'm fine," Hotaru said, in between sobs, "Legolas, I'm fine. It was just a bad dreams. Bad visions, bad dreams, all that stuff. I'm fine. Really. I just need some sleep."

It looked like he was about to say something, but he took one look at me, and decided it was better not to. He walked off. As soon as he turned around, Hotaru tried to smile and said in Japanese, "**You're a really bad liar, you know that?**"

I laughed. It was nice to see that even though she was this scared and was crying, she could have her sense of humor. "**I know,**" I said, "**but we can focus on my bad lying skills later. Right now, you and I both need sleep. We're not going to be able to deal with this if we don't get any sleep.**"

"**But what if-**"

"**Hotaru, do you really think Saruman's going to come and take over you while you're asleep? The chances of him doing that are about as unlikely as a mosquito being able to eat an elephant.**"

"**I think you're right, but you can't blame me for being worried.**"

"**I don't blame you in the slightest. Let's get some sleep, and we can focus more on this in the morning, 'kay?**"

"**'Kay.**" It was obvious she was still worried.

"Hey," I said in English, putting my hand on her shoulder, "We can get through this. Just like how we got through Mistress 9 and Pharaoh 90 and all the other scary stuff. Who knows; we might be able to use it as a tool to see what you-know-who is up to!"

She looked the other way, before lying down and going to sleep. I was worried, and I could tell that Legolas was concerned. I decided to let it go for the time begin and get some rest.

* * *

**The Next Day; Still Rini/Sailor Mini Moon POV**

I was so tired the next morning, and so was Hotaru. We got back onto the boats, and set sail. We were in the same groups as before, but Boromir kept glaring at Aragorn for some strange reason. Aragorn apparently ignored this, but I wasn't about to let Boromir off the hook so easily. Nobody picks on my family. I glared at Boromir hard, and if looks could kill, I'm pretty sure he would have died in about ten seconds. Maybe twenty tops.

We were going past some cliffs, and the ride seemed to go on forever. It felt like I was on one of those road trips that just never seems to end. I killed some time trying to figure out what my sword said. "It says 'This blade is called Hadhafang, a noble defense against the enemy throng for a noble lady,' if you're wondering what it says," Hotaru surprised me by saying. She was quiet almost the entire way, so I hadn't really expected her to say anything.

"Thanks," I replied. I switched to Japanese, because this way, Legolas wouldn't be able to understand what we were talking about. "**Still no sign of him, Hotaru?**"

Hotaru sighed. I could tell she didn't want to talk about this, but there was no other choice. "**No sign yet. I thought I felt something earlier, but it was probably nothing. Don't worry too much about it; if he's trying to take me over, then it's my job to worry about fighting him off.**"

"**You're right. Still-**"

"Speak in words we can all understand! Please," Gimli shouted, interrupting our conversation.

I exchanged a quick look with Hotaru, before saying, "Hotaru and I want to have a conversation to ourselves. Is that some kind of problem?"

"Yes! We're supposed to work together," Gimli shouted. This dwarf was really starting to get on my nerves. "Therefore, if you're discussing strategy-"

"We're not. We're having a conversation in our home language, and I would really appreciate it if you didn't interrupt."

"You stinking human."

"You stinking dwarf."

"You stinking-"

"That's enough," Hotaru said. "We shouldn't be fighting each other like this. We're all here with one purpose; to protect Frodo and destroy the ring. Leave it."

So, after that _wonderful_ moment of argument with Gimli, we continued down the river in silence. The only thing different about the ride this time is that the current was on our side, and pushing us faster. We continued down the river over to a big waterfall. Soon, we got too close, and Aragorn led us over to land and we got out of the boats. Hotaru took a sharp intake of breath as soon as she set foot on the shore, and when I turned to look at her, I thought I saw her eyes flash grey . "**It's nothing**," she said in Japanese, so only I could understand her, "**I just thought I felt some kind of dark presence on the land. Maybe it's just me.**"

"**Maybe, but we can't be too careful. We should at least warn the others. We don't have to mention your eyes flashing**," I replied. She nodded, helped us get our stuff out of the boats, before going over to Aragorn and speaking with him in rapid-fire Elvish.

"We will cross the lake at nightfall. Hide the boats and continue on foot. We shall approach Mordor from the north," Aragorn said.

There were a bunch of yeses and nods from the rest of the Fellowship. The shore we were on had several rocks and trees. If you thought of a beach, though, it was anything but. It was probably one of the most barren, shaded, middle-of-nowhere places that probably couldn't be found on a map of Middle Earth.

Hotaru wandered off into the trees. Apparently she needed some time to think. I was just about to walk over to Aragorn to ask him something when that stinking dwarf, Gimli, got there first. "It gets even better. Just a simple matter of finding our way through Emyn Muil, an impassable labyrinth of razor-sharp rocks. And after that, it gets even better," Gimli said, his voice heavy with sarcasm. I thought I heard another screech, but I must have been imagining it. Apparently, I wasn't because Legolas was looking around for Hotaru, and by the looks of it, he heard those noises, too. Gimli then continued with, "Festering, stinking marshland as far as the eye can see."

Pippin dropped the piece of bacon he was eating, and looked at Aragorn fearfully. "This is our road," Aragorn said. "I suggest you recover your strength, Master Dwarf."

I walked away, and Gimli said something along the lines of "Recover my-." I walked over to Legolas, and as soon as I got there, he said, "I can feel a dark threat coming near. Claeva did, too, did she not? She tensed up as soon as we arrived."

I sighed, praying to just about anyone who would listen that I would be able to lie successfully. "**Well**-I mean, well-yes, she did. I think she might have gone to investigate or something. If it's just one Orc, I'm sure it's not too much to worry about, and she can handle it herself."

Just as Legolas was about to respond, Sam suddenly said, "Where are Hotaru and Frodo and Boromir?" At this remark, we suddenly started looking around for the missing members of the Fellowship.

"I saw my sister go into the trees," Legolas said.

"I saw Hotaru go into the trees, too. She said something about needing some time to think; but I thought she'd be back by now," I said, beginning to get worried. I looked around the area and noticed a shield with a white tree on it leaning against a tree. I asked, "Isn't this Boromir's shield?"

Aragorn came over for a closer look, and said, "That is Boromir's shield. What is it doing here?"

Somehow I knew. You could say a sixth sense of sorts told me. Intuition, maybe? Anyway, as the Fellowship were talking amongst themselves, I sneaked into the trees and began to look for Hotaru.

About what felt like twenty minutes later or so, I finally found her. It looked as if she was helping Frodo collect firewood. I hid behind a bush and sighed in relief. Apparently, she had heard me. "Rini, it's not nice to sneak up behind people," she said, without turning her back around.

I laughed, and came out from my hiding spot. "Well, you can't blame me for being worried. After all, I-" I said, but was interrupted when I heard footsteps and the _clink_ing of armor.

**Hotaru/Sailor Saturn POV**

I heard the _clink_ing of armor just as Rini began to speak. I knew that the only people wearing actual armor were Aragorn, Boromir and Gimli, and the footsteps sounded like they were coming from someone big, so that ruled Gimli out. Still, it was either Aragorn, Boromir, or an Orc. I turned to Rini, and said, "Hide. Someone's coming."

"Shouldn't you be telling Frodo that," she asked.

"I have a pretty good feeling it's someone from the Fellowship, and I'm 99.9% sure that I'm right. However, in case I'm wrong, you have to hide."

Rini mumbled, and went back to her hiding spot. "Quick," I told Frodo, "talk to me. Anything. Just something random."

Frodo launched into this huge explanation about his hometown of the Shire, when the footsteps came closer. We continued to gather firewood and talk, and when the person came within distance of my weapon, I whipped around and put my glaive to the person's throat. It was Boromir. "You wouldn't do that to a comrade, would you, Lady Hotaru," Boromir asked.

I sighed. I lowered my glaive and asked, "What do you want?"

"You shouldn't wander alone, Frodo," Boromir said.

"He's with me." I backed away at this point, because I could obviously tell he wasn't interested in talking to me. I just backed up a couple feet though, so in case Boromir tried anything, I was ready.

"True, but women aren't exactly fighting material now, are they?" Boromir then turned to Frodo to continue with what he was saying earlier. "You shouldn't wander alone, Frodo. You least of all." Frodo looked at Boromir suspiciously, and I could see why. Boromir's eyes were being clouded by something. A kind of hunger. A hunger...for power. "I know why you seek solitude. You suffer. I see it day by day. You sure you do not suffer needlessly?" Bormir received no reply, and slowly begin to step towards Frodo, who backed away in response. "There are other ways, Frodo. Other paths that we might take."

I heard a movement in the bushes, but it was a small one. It was Rini. I turned my head a fraction to where the bushes were, and shook my head, trying to tell her not to make any sudden movements, before turning back to where Frodo and Boromir were. I doubted that Frodo or Boromir had heard it, and I could tell that Rini was surprised by this statement, and could see through Bormir just as well as I could.

"I know what you would say." Frodo said to him. "It would seem like wisdom but for the warning in my heart."

"Warning? Against what," Boromir asked in confusion. He walked towards Frodo, but the Hobbit moved away from him. "We're all afraid, Frodo. But to let that fear drive us, to destroy what hope we have don't you see that is madness? Do you fear death? Do you fear that dark abyss? All your deeds laid bare, all your sins punished?" Boromir continued to walk closer to Frodo, and Frodo backed away slowly.

"There is no other way." Frodo told him firmly as Boromir continued to draw closer. I heard another movement, and saw two tiny pink bumps peeking out from the bushes, and they were moving. Rini was coming our way. Something about this just wasn't a good sign.

"I ask only for the strength to defend my people!" Boromir said angrily. "If you would but lend me the Ring," he said. Boromir was staring at Frodo with what looked like either hunger or murderous intent in his eyes. I wanted to do something, say something, but I was rooted to my spot in fear.

"No." Frodo said fearfully as he continued to back away, his step size increasing.

"Why do you recoil? I am no thief." Frodo continued to take bigger steps away, only to have Boromir come closer.

"You are not yourself."

Boromir's features darkened. "What chance do you think you have? They will find you. They will take the Ring. And you will beg for death before the end!" Boromir shouted. Frodo shook his head and began taking bigger and bigger steps, until his step sized reached its max. Boromir glared at Frodo and cried out, "You fool!" He began to follow Frodo. Rini was in sight, but neither Boromir nor Frodo saw her. She was standing on a hill only a few feet away. "It is not yours, save by unhappy chance! It could have been mine." Boromir began to run towards him and Frodo tried to get away. Rini and I gasped. Rini ran down the hill, and I charged towards them. Any fear I had left my mind and we caught up to them just as Boromir tackled Frodo to the ground, "It should have been mine! Give it to me!" he shouted as Rini grabbed hold of Boromir and tried to get him away, but it didn't look like he noticed her.

"No!" Frodo shouted as he struggled to get out of Boromir's grasp.

"Hotaru, get out of here, and get help! Run!" Rini shouted out as she continued to hold onto Boromir.

"Rini, you could die, and you expect me to leave you here like this?" I shouted back.

"Just do it!"

I sighed, before running back to the campsite to get help.

**Rini/Sailor Mini Moon POV**

I don't know what I was thinking when I sent Hotaru away to get help. Maybe the rush of adrenaline got to my head. Maybe I've been hanging around that stupid, stinking dwarf, Gimli, too much. Maybe, maybe, maybe. There were a lot of _maybe_s, but I couldn't afford to focus on those right now. I struggled to pull Boromir off, but Boromir was over twice my size. He swung his arm around and hit me, hard. I fell onto the ground, and I could feel scrapes and cuts in several places. I stood up. I certainly wasn't about to go down without a fight, and I couldn't afford for Frodo to get hurt.

I got back to my feet as Boromir grabbed a hold of Frodo and walked over to me. He grabbed my arm and forced me into a choke-hold. I kicked Boromir in the arm that he had Frodo in hard enough so that Frodo fell down. Frodo scrambled to his feet, and took a brief look at me, before I struggled to get out the words,"Run, Frodo!" He put the Ring on, disappeared, and I cringed from the painful hold Boromir had on me. I kicked and kicked and kicked, until he finally threw me away from him. When I landed, I could feel my head collide with something hard. It hurt a lot, but I tried to turn to see what it was. A rock. Just my luck. I felt a familiar warm substance coming from my head and onto my clothes and the rest of my body.

I struggled to turn back to Boromir and get up. Boromir shouted out, "I see your mind. You will take the Ring to Sauron! You will betray us! You'll go to your death, and the death of us all! Curse you! Curse you and all the Halflings!" I heard what sounded like a shove of some sort, before he fell down to the ground. It looked like he came out of whatever trance he was in, but I wasn't sure. I tried to keep up whatever guard I could until help came. I was losing a lot of blood, fast. Boromir looked around fearfully, before calling out, "Frodo?" No response. "Frodo," he whispered. He finally noticed me and the blood that was leaking out like a faucet. "What have I done," he said more to himself. He began crawling slowly towards me. I couldn't move. "Please, Frodo," He whispered and then he looked around at me, "Princess?" he said. I could barely move, and my vision was starting to go blurry. "I'm sorry, Frodo!" he screamed.

**Hotaru/Sailor Saturn POV**

It wasn't hard to figure out the way back to the campsite. I just took the same path I used to go into the forest to get out. I ran and ran, and when Legolas saw me, I could tell he was about to start yelling about something or other. "Save it, Legolas," I said, putting my hand up in a stop gesture. "Rini's in trouble. We have to go! Now!"

Aragorn instantly ran over to me. "What happened," he asked.

"The Ring happened. Its powers consumed Boromir. Last I saw, he was trying to kill Frodo, but Rini was trying to pull him off when I left. Well, Boromir is twice Rini's size, and...you get the picture. We can't afford to waste time! We-" I dropped to my knees. My vision changed. I was seeing through Rini's eyes, and I felt her pain. I could see her trying to ward off Boromir, but she was bleeding pretty badly from a head wound. My vision went back to normal, and I couldn't control my breathing.

"Claeva," my brother yelled in Elvish, shaking me by the shoulders, "are you all right? What has happened?"

I struggled to get my breathing together and said, "I...I had another vision."

"What did you see," Aragorn asked.

"I saw-"

"Out with it, bloody elf princessling," Gimli shouted.

"I saw...I saw Rini...and Boromir. Rini...she's been...wounded...to the head. We have...to help her...now." I struggled to get up. My legs felt really shaky, though, and I was still struggling to keep my breathing in check. When I finally got up, a hand stopped me. I looked to see who it was, and it was Legolas. "Let me go. She's my best friend. I have to help her," I said.

"You just had a vision. You shouldn't be-" he stopped.

"What? I shouldn't be up and about, because I'm some kind of demented elf freak who gets visions, right? I got news for you. You can't order me around and treat me like a freak. You may be my older brother, but if there's one thing I can't stand, it's people who boss me around and treat me like I'm some kind of freak." I pushed his hand off, and, using my glaive for support, I began to move into the forest. I tried to run, but when I did, my breathing hiked up to a very unhealthy level, so I decided to stick with speed walking. I heard footsteps behind me, and I could hear Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas following.

**Rini/Sailor Mini Moon POV**

"Get...away...from me," I tried to shout, but the words came out all slurred together. My head seriously hurt, and a warm, wet, red, liquid was coming down all over me from my head. I struggled to get some kind of weapon out. In the end, all that came out was my Moon Rod, and I doubted that that would help much. Nevertheless, Boromir backed away from me in fear. I managed to turn around and stumble away in the direction I thought Frodo had gone in. I tripped over some tree roots, though. I could feel myself fall to the ground, and I was expecting to feel it underneath me, but it never happened. I could feel warm hands holding me.

The hands were warm and gentle, yet, they felt slightly unsteady and a tad sweaty, too. I knew who it was at once. I couldn't seem to say anything, though, let alone move. Another set of hands touched my head, but it hurt so much, I flinched, which made it hurt more. The hand pulled away, and I heard a voice say, "What did you do to her? How could you hurt the Princess?" I couldn't really place who was talking; the voice faded in and out like a bad radio.

"Did you really think I would harm her," another voice said. Suddenly, everything came rushing back, and my head hurt about ten times worse than before. I groaned.

"Rini? Are you all right," I could hear a voice say, this one close by.

"Princess," another voice said.

I struggled to open my eyes. My vision was blurry, but I could still see who was there. There were four people. Hotaru was apparently trying to keep a good hold on me, and Legolas was supporting her. Gimli was there, too, surprisingly. "Hotaru. Gimli," I said. I tried to get out more, but I couldn't. It hurt so much.

"What did you do to the Princess," Legolas shouted.

"I didn't mean...I meant no harm...please, believe me," Boromir said, his voice quivering. I couldn't really see, but I could tell he was crying.

My head felt like it was on fire at this point. "H...Ho...Hotaru! It HURTS," I shouted. I could feel tears going down my face

Hotaru said something in Elvish to Legolas, before handing me over to him, and positioning me so that my back was facing him. She then ran in front of me and placed a hand on my arm and started rubbing it. "Ssh, Ssh. It'll be all right, Rini. Right now, just try to focus on something happy and relaxing," she said.

"But...wh...what could...p...possibly be...happy? And...re...relaxing," I asked, trying to breathe through the pain.

"We're all still here, aren't we? And, we're still fighting. We're here with a purpose. You've got your friends by your side, your family, and we're going to get through this. You know that, and I know that."

I tried to focus on that and ignore the pain. It was really hard. I mean, it's not like you can block out your head feeling like it's on fire. Hotaru started talking with Legolas in Elvish again, and then put her hand on my arm and started saying something under her breath. A small, green glow started to come from it, and I felt warmth all over my body. I could feel my breathing go back to a nice, calm pace. The pain was beginning to lessen up, but it hadn't gone away. Hotaru shouted something in Elvish at Legolas again, who got what looked like some kind of vial with some weird stuff inside of it, and a rag. "It's called Nebra, Princess. It will stop infection from occurring," Legolas said.

I gave him a skeptical look, and Hotaru chimed in with, "Trust him, and leave the rest of it to me."

I nodded, or rather tried to, but they got the message all the same. When Legolas put the Nebra on my head, I flinched. It stung. Not like how Neosporin stings on a scrape. Worse than neosporin on a scrape. Much worse. Still, I trusted Hotaru, and I knew she would take care of it. When the Nebra was done soaking in, she put a hand on my head, and let her power over Saturn do its job. I could feel the wound closing. That didn't mean I felt any of the side effects, though. My head still hurt, and when I tried to get up, I felt really dizzy, and would have fallen back down, if it weren't for Hotaru being right there to catch me.

"You're lucky that the Princess's wound isn't fatal and is easily fixed," Gimli shouted at Boromir, who had been watching me the entire time. "If it was fatal, I wouldn't have hesitated for even a split second to chop your arms off."

"Gimli, you wouldn't-" Hotaru started.

"Don't tell me what I would or wouldn't do. She is the princess of the moon kingdom of the thirtieth century. She must be protected at all costs. When I said that, it was not just an empty threat."

Hotaru handed me over to Legolas, but just as she did that, it was her turn to collapse. "I've...used...too...much power. Especially after...that...vision," she said. She stood back up. "I'm...okay. More...or...less. I can...walk." And with that, using her glaive for support, she walked-rather, hobbled-back to the campsite.

I was a different story. I could barely walk, so Legolas had to carry me on his back. Gimli stayed in the forest, saying something about a bad feeling about something. I was a little concerned, but when we finally arrived back at the campsite, I could see Aragorn talking to Frodo about something, and the only bit that I caught of it was Frodo saying, "Look after the others. Especially Sam. He will not understand." Aragorn nodded. Legolas put me down on a rock, and Hotaru sat down next to me.

Suddenly, I heard a noise. Apparently Aragorn did, too. "Go, Frodo!" he shouted. Aragorn pulled his sword out, and Frodo did the same, only to notice that his was glowing blue. Orcs were nearby. Definitely not a good sign. Gimli ran out from the forest and was so out of breath, we could barely manage to understand what he said.

Hotaru hobbled over to Gimli and shook him by the shoulders saying, "What happened?"

Gimli was still out of breath, and looked like he was going to be sick, before saying, "Run...help...Master...Hobbits...fight...Orcs." Then he fell to his knees and tried to catch his breath.

"Rini," Hotaru said, "go ahead with them and help whoever needs help. I'm staying here in case the Hobbits come back. I see footprints that belong to Merry and Pippin and Sam who all ran off in different directions."

"Are you sure?" I asked.

"Positive. You're in much better shape than I am, and you're looking better already. Just go! I have a really bad feeling about this."

**Hotaru/Sailor Saturn POV**

Rini was hesitant, but she did as I said anyway. She ran after Aragorn and Legolas and Gimli to go and fight off the Orcs. I heard a voice a little bit towards the east. Listening harder, I heard Sam shouting, "Mr. Frodo!" It was obvious he was looking for Frodo, and I could hear him moving around as he looked for his friend.

I looked back towards the west, and I could see Frodo turn in the direction he heard Sam shout from. Frodo continued to run, but he fell as he saw the Orcs swarming over the hill. He got back to his feet quickly as Aragorn appeared and killed an Orc. I heard two more voices, shouting "Frodo!" It was Merry and Pip, who were hiding behind a bush.

Pip shouted to Frodo, "Hide here! Quick!" When Frodo didn't move, Pip said, "Come on!" Frodo didn't move. "What's he doing?"

"He's leaving." Merry told him.

They both jumped out of their hiding place and shouted "No!"

"Pippin!" Merry shouted. The twosome ran out after Frodo and turned as the Orcs screeched and growled upon seeing them. The Orcs began heading in their direction. Merry and Pippin turned to Frodo and shouted, "Run, Frodo. Go on!" As Frodo ran, Merry and Pippin turned to look at the Orcs."Hey! Hey, you!" they shouted, successfully getting the attention of the Orcs. "Over here!" he shouted and the Orcs headed towards them. The two of them began to run and lead the Orcs away.

I could still hear Sam calling out for Frodo. I was concerned for Frodo and for the rest of the Fellowship. It was clear what I had to do.

**Rini/Sailor Mini Moon POV**

I had been fighting the Orcs quite successfully with the help of Gimli. Dwarfs were much stronger than I imagined, despite their size. Just as one was about to attack, Gimli suddenly chopped off its legs and it died. "Thanks," I said.

"Glad to help, Princess," he replied. After a few more Orcs, we ran over to help Aragorn and Legolas deal with theirs. It was a big, bloody, and gory mess. Lots of dead Orcs everywhere.

"Where is my sister?" Legolas asked. "Shouldn't she be helping us?"

"Hotaru said she was going to wait on the shore in case-" I stopped short. I looked back at the shore and saw her get up and start hobbling away. It was clear to me what she was going to do. I can't believe she had lied to me like that. Just as I spent a few seconds wallowing in betrayal, it became clear to me why she left.

"In case what?" Legolas shouted, shaking me by the shoulders.

"Hotaru...she...she's not going to stay on the shore. She's going to follow-" I choked back on tears that were forming in my eyes, and continued, "follow Frodo. Follow him straight into Mordor." And then, I let it all out. I cried and cried and cried.

Legolas, who apparently was in shock after what I had told him, shook me by the shoulders harder than last time. "How could you let her do something like that?" he shouted. If he was upset, he definitely didn't show it. If anything, he was really angry. He started hitting me hard, and in a few moments, I noticed a warm, wet, familiar substance going down my right arm. I started to fight back, got out my Moon Rod, and let all of its power out, and blasted Legolas, before running off to the shore.

I cried as I ran, and when I finally reached the shore, I noticed a lump sticking out. Just next to that lump was Hotaru's flute. I moved it aside before digging through the dirt. I found a note half written in Japanese, the other half in Elvish. I picked it up, and took a deep breath and began to read the part I could understand:

_**Dear Rini:**_

**_If you are reading this, then you have realized what it is that I have to do. I wish there was another way; believe me, I do. If there was an alternative, I would gladly take it. I beg you to understand that I have made this decision of my own free will. Frodo can't do this by himself; you know that, and I know that, too. You'll have a better chance of surviving this ordeal if you go with my brother and the rest of the Fellowship (even if Gimli gets on your nerves sometimes ^_^)._**

**_I could tell that you thought I wasn't telling you something, and you were right. It wasn't just worrying about being taken over by you-know-who. When I talked to the Lady Galadriel, she put me face to face with a decision; perhaps the toughest decision I've ever had to make. If I go back to Earth with you, then everyone whose lives we have ever touched will forget me. If I stay here, and you go back, you and everyone else will forget about me. It would be as if I never existed._**

As I read this, my cries turned into sobs. I sank to my knees, and still held the note in my hand. I tried to take a deep breath; knowing I had to keep reading. I read on:

**_I understand that this is hard; it's hard for me, too. Like I said, if there was an alternative, I would gladly take it. So much has been on my mind, I can't take it. I know it looks like I've been coping with finding out about my life, but I haven't. I have to adjust to it. The way Legolas looks at me...I'm sure you've noticed it, too. I'm not leaving the quest because of him, though. I'm leaving it because I have no other choice and Frodo can't do this by himself. _****_Tell Legolas it's not your fault that I went on my own; I have a feeling he thinks it is. After all, he tends to make my safety first priority, and sometimes it comes back to bite him._**

**_Just because I'm gone physically, I'm still there in spirit. You have to keep your promise and still not tell anyone about me being taken over by Saruman. Nor can you tell Legolas about my decision; he's already freaking out enough as it is._**

**_If I don't make it out of this alive, I want you to know you're the best friend a girl could ask for. You've been like a sister to me, and it's a good thing to know that the one thing that hasn't been a lie after everything is our friendship. It's been awesome getting to know you and fighting alongside you, my friend, my sister._**

**_Your friend,_**

**_Hotaru_**

I looked at the letter again. I couldn't believe that she was risking her life like this. I picked up her flute and held it and the note close to my body and cried. I cried for the fact that Hotaru kept all this information inside her for so long and never told anyone, and I cried for the fact that Hotaru took a path that only increased her chance of dying. I cried because I could have helped her. I should have helped her, and Legolas was right; it was my fault that she took this path. I deserved the pain he inflicted. I looked at the small cut that Legolas made on my arm and saw several tears of blood going down while the wound began to close. It didn't take away the emotional scarring in my heart, though.

"**What is**-I mean, what is wrong, Princess?" I heard a voice ask. Whoever it was was using extremely poor Japanese. I looked around, and saw it was Aragorn. I smiled through my tears, but the smile was forced.

"This," I said, folding the note and showing him the Japanese half.

"I cannot read this, Princess," Aragorn said. "It is written in a language I am unfamiliar with."

I summarized the letter to the best of my ability, and told him how I felt. I also told him that there was a half of it in Elvish. I was still crying, but I managed to calm down enough to talk. I heard a movement in the trees. I knew who it was even before he decided to show himself. "Gimli, Legolas, has no one ever told you that it's impolite to stare?" I asked. "Come on out, I know you're there. No point in hiding."

Gimli came out first, and practically ran as fast as his little dwarf legs could carry him. "Forgive me for staring, Princess, I was concerned, and I-"

"It's fine Gimli. I understand." I smiled at him through my tears.

Legolas was a different story. As he came towards me, his gaze shifted from the sky to the ground, and then finally to me. When he walked up to me, he said, "Princess. I...I wish to apologize for the wound I have inflicted upon you. I know now that it is not your fault that my sister-"

Those were the last words I wanted to hear. I could feel my heart starting to race. I didn't want to hear it wasn't my fault. I didn't want to be lied to constantly. "Please," I said to Legolas in between sobs. "Please don't say that it wasn't my fault."

"Princess, I-"

"I don't want to talk about it right now. Whatever Hotaru has to say, you can read for yourself. Here," I said, showing him the half of the letter that was in Elvish. He took it from me and began to read it to himself. His eyes widened as he read it. "What does it say?" I asked.

Legolas didn't answer. He continued to read the letter. As he read, his eyes grew wider and wider. When he finally finished, he thrust the letter back into my hands, and then continued from where he had left off before in hitting me. "You stupid, stupid Princess!" he cried as he hit me. "You can't do anything right! You just let my sister go to her certain death and-"

I had it right there. I shouted, "Stop right there, Legolas! You can't go around protecting Hotaru at every turn! She's not some bird in a cage you can just toy around with! She's a person and she had her reasons for doing this! I didn't let her go, nor did I force her to! It was her decision! How hard is that to get through your stupid Elf head?" I could feel more blood going down my arms and the tears started to fall freely down my face. I hit him, hard, right in the gut. Legolas doubled back in pain, and his eyes widened in shock. I ran off before anyone else could do anything.

**A/N: Wow...major drama there...didn't want to write it, but I had to. More drama to come! Credit goes to Wiki for info on the Orcs/Uruk Hai! R&R!**


	14. Separate Ways

**A/N: Welcome back after over half a year of no updates! I seriously hope nobody forgot about this story or thinks I abandoned it; I just put it on hiatus to work on other stories! But since those stories are in relatively good places, here it is! The long awaited chapter 14! YAY!**

**kanna-chan does not own Sailor Moon or Lord of the Rings, because she is not Naoko Takeuchi, Peter Jackson, or JRR Tolkein.**

**Language Key:**

"Japanese"  
"English"  
"Elvish"  
NEW: "English telepathy" and "Elvish telepathy" and "Japanese telepathy"

* * *

**Hotaru/Sailor Saturn POV**

I ran. Rather, I limped through the forest using my glaive for support. I was slowly but surely regaining my strength. I had to go with Frodo. I only hoped that Rini and Legolas would understand why, and that the two wouldn't try to kill each other. I sighed. Knowing Legolas, he'd probably be pretty mad at Rini, and Rini would be mad right back at him. The only mediators in their group were Aragorn and Gimli, and...well...I could tell things weren't going to be pretty.

I continued to limp until I saw who I was looking for: Frodo. I used the power of Saturn to heal my wounds, before running towards Frodo. "Frodo," I shouted, "wait up!" The hobbit in question turned around and saw me running towards him.

"Hotaru," he asked, as I stopped in front of him, "what are you doing here?"

"I can't let you do this alone, now, can I?"

"But what about Rini?"

"She'll be fine...I hope. She's with Legolas and Aragorn and Gimli. Now, come on! Do you want those Orcs to catch up to us?"

"No."

"Good! Hurry up and load the boat."

"On it. Oh, and Hotaru?"

"Yes?"

"Thanks."

We quickly continued to load our boat with the various necessities needed for the rest of the trip to Mordor in silence. I could see tears streaming down Frodo's face. "It'll be all right," I said, as I loaded the boat, "and when it's all over, I want to see the Shire." Frodo smiled, and wiped his tears.

When we were finished loading, we got on the boat and Frodo grabbed one of the oars and started to row. The boat was almost all the way out to sea, when I heard something. With my Elven hearing, I heard a voice calling out, "Frodo! Frodo!" I quickly turned toward the source of the voice and saw Sam. That naive little hobbit didn't know what he was getting himself into. He waded into the water, and his body was nearly halfway underwater.

"Sam," Frodo shouted, as he continued to row, "Go back, Sam! I'm going to Mordor alone."

"Sure you are," Sam shouted back, "and I'm going with you!"

Sam continued to wade deeper and deeper into the water. I worried for him, but I knew that we had to do something. "There's no convincing him," I whispered to Frodo, "he's a stubborn one."

"It's too dangerous," Frodo replied to me, having stopped rowing, before turning back to Sam and shouting, "Sam, you can't swim!"

Apparently, that didn't matter to Sam. Clearly he was dedicating his life to Frodo. A strong friendship that reminded me of all the times Rini and I fought together as Sailor Scouts. Sam struggled to swim, but it turned into a kind of doggy-paddle, and a few seconds later, he was stopped for breath, and went underwater. "Sam," Frodo and I shouted out.

"Sam," Frodo repeated, going towards the back of the boat with his oar. My heightened sense of sight allowed me to see underwater, and I could see that Sam was starting to drown. Frodo quickly leaned over the back of the boat and I held onto him to make sure that he'd stay on the boat. When he felt Sam's grip, he shouted out, "Got him!" We struggled to pull the hobbit onto the boat, and a few seconds later, Sam was on the boat. He was alive, wet, and gasping for breath.

"I promised," Sam said, as he gasped for breath, "'don't you leave him, Samwise Gamgee.' And I don't mean to."

I could see Frodo trying to process what Sam had said. Fresh tears went down Frodo's face, as he embraced his friend, his companion, his brother in a tight hug. It made me miss Rini and my brother, but I knew I had to stay strong. Even so, just the thought of the two of them made me shed a few tears. I smiled through my tears at the two of them, and we all shared a group hug. When the hug ended, I looked at the both of them, and placed a hand on both their shoulders, and said, "Come on. No time to lose." Frodo and Sam each grabbed an oar, and they started rowing.

The road to Mordor was going to be long and harrowing. I knew we would make it. Somehow. No. I knew Frodo and Sam would make it. The question was, would I make it? I could feel the dark presence in me starting to increase. It weakened at first, and then disappeared almost as if it had vanished. I thought it was gone, but it was quickly replaced by a darker power. I sighed. What could these dark beings possibly want from me? All I could do was hope that it would go away.

* * *

**Rini/Sailor Mini Moon POV**

I wasn't sure how long it had been. All I knew was that I couldn't stand Legolas within every fiber of my being. What was it that Gimli said? Bloody elf? Something along those lines. I stared at the note Hotaru left, until I heard something. It sounded like a horn. Gimli, Legolas, and Aragorn ran up to me. "Aragorn," I asked, "what is that?"

"The horn of Gondor," Aragorn said, realization coming upon his face, as he realized aloud, "Boromir!" My eyes widened, and we took off running. I ran faster than I ever had in my life, and I couldn't help but think after this was all over, I had to go out running with Lita. Wait til she saw how fast and strong I got!

When we finally arrived, there were Orcs and Uruk Hai left and right. It looked to be a fight of thirty against three, as Boromir, Merry, and Pip struggled to hold their own. I got out my new sword, Hadhafang, and started attacking the Orcs. It looked as if they were stronger. They certainly weren't smarter, though. The sword was light in my hand, and I continued to get rid of the Orcs that were attacking me, before seeing how Merry and Pip were doing.

Merry and Pip were behind Boromir as he fought off the Orcs coming at him. It still looked the same, but Boromir continued to hold his own. I wanted to shout for Aragorn or Gimli to help, but they were too busy with their Orcs. I had to go help on my own. Just as one was about to attack Boromir, I blasted it with my Moon Rod's power, and sliced it with my sword. "Princess," Boromir gasped, looking down at me, "get the hobbits-" Boromir never did get to finish that sentence, as he was shot with an arrow to the shoulder by an Uruk Hai.

"Boromir," I cried out. Boromir fell to his knees from the blow, but took a deep breath, and stood right back up, killing more Orcs left and right. I couldn't help but admire him right now. Despite the fact that he was badly wounded, he continued to fight.

"Princess," Boromir shouted as he fought, "take the hobbits and-" Boromir was cut off once again, this time by an arrow to the side. He took a heavy breath, before getting back up. He let out a war-cry, and killed a small Orc behind him. He continued to fight off more and more Orcs despite the huge amount of pain he must have been in.

I had to help Boromir. I turned to Merry and Pip, and said, "Get somewhere and hide. Fast!" They nodded, and ran behind the first tree they could find. I turned back to the fight, only to see that the Uruk Hai who had shot Boromir had its bow out and ready to finish the job he started. Just as the Uruk Hai was about to shoot, though, Aragorn dived in, tackling the monster, and the arrow went flying into one of the trees.

The Uruk Hai was stronger, though. He picked up Aragorn and spun him around, before throwing him onto the ground. Picking up his sword, the Uruk Hai started to strike a downward blow, but Aragorn managed to roll out of the way. Aragorn stabbed the Uruk Hai with the dagger Celeborn gave him, before getting back up.

Boromir was clearly struggling to hold his own, and I fought with him until I heard screams. Two screams. I realized who it was, before realizing we had been lured into a trap. It didn't matter to the Uruk Hai if they killed us; they were after the Hobbits! I was too late, though, because Merry and Pip were already forced upon one of the Uruk Hai's horses and were off to who knows where. I yelled, before killing an Orc that was coming up in front of me.

When we finally got rid of all the Orcs and Uruk Hai, I heard a _thud._ I turned around, and saw Boromir fall to the ground. Aragorn and I ran up to him, and when Aragorn saw the state of his comrade, he whispered, "No."

"They_" Boromir struggled to breathe, but he was losing blood by the minute. He took a deep breath, before saying, "They took the little ones."

Aragorn and I looked at his wounds worriedly, while I placed a hand on Boromir's shoulder. "Hold still," I said, but I could tell that no matter what we did, it wouldn't help much. Boromir was dying. And there was nothing we could do. Tears streamed down my face as I looked at the dying body of my comrade.

Boromir's breathing became more and more labored as he asked, "Frodo. Where is Frodo?"

"I let Frodo go," Aragorn said with a sigh.

"Then you did what I could not," Boromir replied, closing his eyes in pain, "I tried to take the Ring from him. I hurt the Princess."

"Boromir," I whispered, "I'm fine. See?" I sighed. "The Ring is beyond our reach now, anyway."

"Forgive me, Princess. Forgive me, Aragorn. I have failed you all," Boromir struggled to say.

I shook my head, as Aragorn replied, "No, Boromir. You fought bravely. You have kept your honor." Aragorn started to move towards the arrows to take them out, so that Boromir might have a chance at surviving, but Boromir grabbed his hand.

"Leave it. It is over. The world of Men will fall. And all will come to darkness and my city to ruin," Boromir whispered, as tears went down his face.

Aragorn struggled to hold back his own tears, before saying, "I do not know what strength is in my blood but I swear to you, I will not let the White City fall nor our people fail."

"Our people," Boromir whispered. "Our people." Aragorn gave him a sword, which Boromir clutched to his chest. I heard footsteps and saw that Legolas had arrived, and

saw all the dead Orcs in astonishment, before noticing Aragorn and I kneeling at Boromir's side. Gimli followed at a slower pace, and when he arrived, he mumbled something under his breath that I couldn't hear. "Princess," Boromir whispered, trying to turn his head towards me, "take my shield. The strength of Gondor will defend you." I nodded, and Boromir turned to Aragorn, saying, "I would have followed you, my Brother. My captain. My King." He looked at me before saying, "And you, Princess. It's an honor to die at your sides." Boromir's eyes became glassy, as death took Boromir for his own.

Tears escaped Aragorn's eyes, as he said, "It's an honor to have lived at yours. Be at peace, son of Gondor." I looked over at Legolas and Gimli, who both had tears in their eyes, but no tears escaped Legolas's. I wasn't surprised. The bloody elf; I couldn't help but wonder if he had any emotion at all sometimes. That, and how on earth he could be related to Hotaru. Gimli rested the hilt of his axe on the ground, and carefully leaned on the blade. "They will look for his coming from the White Tower," Aragorn whispered, as tears fell from his eyes, "but he will not return."

I took a deep breath, wiped the last of my tears, before asking, "What do you do when...when a warrior dies like this?"

"The body is cleansed of any blood," Legolas replied, "and then sent out to sea."

I got up and started looking for a boat with Gimli, while Aragorn and Legolas cleaned Boromir's body. The words sounded strange in my head, but we had to do what we had to do. Boromir died a hero's death. There was nothing more we could do for him.

It didn't take us long to find a boat. Aragorn, Gimli, and I gently laid Boromir in the boat, before sending it out to sea. Legolas ran up to us, pushing another boat, before saying, "Hurry! Frodo, Sam and Claeva have reached the eastern shore." I looked at Aragorn, and saw the answer in his eyes, just before it came to my mind. Although it was painful, we couldn't afford to do anything about it. "You mean not to follow them," Legolas realized aloud.

"Frodo's fate is no longer in our hands," Aragorn replied.

"What about Claeva's," Legolas asked. "She's my sister. I have to protect her."

Aragorn smiled. "You fail to listen to her, and to the Princess, my friend. Lady Claeva is strong; she can handle herself. You can't go around protecting her at every turn."

"Aragorn's right," I added, "and besides, what's done is done. She'll be fine." I wasn't too sure about that last sentence. I couldn't afford to tell Legolas, or anyone, for that matter, that Saruman might be taking over Hotaru.

"Then it has all been in vain," Gimli said, walking up to Aragorn. "The Fellowship has failed." Legolas also walked up to Aragorn.

Aragorn placed a hand on both their shoulders, and I followed suit. "We can't fail if we hold true to each other," I said, "We won't abandon Merry and Pip. Not while we have strength left."

Aragorn smiled at me, before saying, "Leave anything that can be spared behind. We travel light." Aragorn turned back to the trees, and said, "Let us hunt some Orc."

"Yes," Gimli shouted, taking off into the trees.

Aragorn turned to me. "When did you suddenly get so wise, Princess," he asked.

"I learned from the best," I replied, smiling at him. "I'll catch up with you. Go after Gimli. Who knows what kind of trouble he'll get us into." Aragorn laughed, before running after Gimli.

I started to walk back towards the trees to follow them, before I heard Legolas whisper, "Claeva. Please be safe." When he turned around and saw me, I started running after Aragorn and Gimli, while I was followed by Legolas.

* * *

**Hotaru/Sailor Saturn POV**

We had arrived at a small island that had a giant rock, and if you stood on top of it, you could easily see Mordor. Sam and Frodo were asleep, but just being on the island sent shivers up my spine. I stood on the rock and looked at Mordor. Rather, what I could see of it. Even with the sight that the Elves possessed, I couldn't see a lot of detail. I jumped off the rock and back onto the land, before I heard a voice in my head saying, "_Why haven't you killed him yet?_"

Saruman. Wonderful. It was a good thing that Frodo and Sam weren't mind readers. If they were, they would be able to hear the whole exchange. I sighed, and asked, "_What do you want, Saruman?_"

"_Isn't it obvious? I want you._"

Clearly it was in more ways than one. "_Why do you want me_," I asked, "_there are a lot of other Elves. Besides there's lots of other warriors stronger than me. Why me?__"_

"_You have so much destructive potential, Claeva. If you could just unlock it, you could rule._"

"_Forget it. I'm not interested._"

"_Another part of you says otherwise._"

"_Shut up._"

"_It's the truth. You know it is._"

"_GET OUT OF MY HEAD,_" I shouted mentally, trying to force it out.

"_You can't escape me forever, little Clae__v__a_," Saruman whispered, as he faded. His presence was still there, but he shut up. I sighed. That conversation gave me a huge headache. I couldn't help but wonder if they had Advil in Middle Earth as I collapsed into a deep sleep.

* * *

**Sailor Pluto POV**

Finally. Those big slimy things were gone. They were strong, but they certainly weren't all that smart. I was so glad that they were gone. I sighed, as I collapsed to the ground, and tried to catch my breath. I wanted to get Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune to help, but they couldn't get here without a Time Key, and Rini was the only one of the Scouts who had one.

Boy, did I screw up. I couldn't even trace Hotaru or Rini's whereabouts. Somehow, I knew they were alive, but I couldn't afford to get my hopes up. It was so infuriating, not being able to leave the Time and Space Gate and not being able to help the others.

I was pulled out of my thoughts when I heard something. It sounded like footsteps coming towards me. I got into a fighting stance, but it was too late. I didn't even see who it was at first. I tried to fight the person off, but they were too strong. The person was covered by shadow, and the only thing that I could see was that it was a girl who had short hair and carried a kind of scythe. She wore a short skirt and high boots.

The girl walked up to me, pushing me against the gate, her scythe at my throat. "Who are you," I asked, "and what do you want?" The girl said nothing. She opened her eyes, and they were a striking color of violet. That color was quickly replaced by grey, as I figured out who it was. "H-" I started to say, but was cut off as she removed her weapon from my throat and slashed my stomach with it. Blood spurted everywhere, and I fell to the ground. She walked away.

I was dying. There wouldn't be anyone left to guard the Gate, but I had to do something. I struggled to reach out to someone through a mental connection. The first person I thought of was Rini. I could feel the connection slowly get stronger, and her image came into my mind.

"_Ri...ni,_" I struggled to get out mentally.

* * *

**Rini/Sailor Mini Moon POV**

It was nighttime, and Aragorn and Gimli were sleeping. Legolas was...well, I neither knew or cared what Legolas was doing. He was upset about Hotaru, and I understood that. As her best friend, I felt upset, too, but he had to move on. Not just for the Fellowship, but for her as well. She'd want that. Of course, I still felt guilty about keeping all these secrets from the Fellowship. I wanted to tell someone everything, but I couldn't. I promised Hotaru that I wouldn't tell anyone about Saruman.

I was sitting on a rock near a small river as a tear slid down my cheek. I heard someone in my head calling my name. I closed my eyes, lay down, and tried to focus on it. The image slowly became clearer, and I saw...Sailor Pluto! She was lying on the ground, and there was blood everywhere. There was a giant cut across her stomach, and she was still bleeding. "**_Sailor Pluto,_**" I cried out.

Sailor Pluto's eyes seemed to be elsewhere, but she struggled to project an image of something. It was purple, and it looked like a girl. I couldn't see the eyes, but the hair was short, and the person carried a weapon that looked all too familiar. The skirt had a ribbon on the back. There was no way it could have been her. No freaking way. "_**I think...**_" Sailor Pluto struggled to get out, "_**she's...been...possessed...by something.**_" Was Hotaru already being taken over by Saruman? Were we too late? "**_Ri...ni...forgive...me..._**" Sailor Pluto sighed, as she closed her eyes for the last time.

"No," I whispered, as I quickly sat up. I was drenched with sweat. I touched my face, as I felt tears that had already dried. It wasn't a nightmare. I was hyperventilating, but I tried to take some deep breaths. As soon as my breathing calmed down, I looked back to where Aragorn and Gimli were. They were still asleep. I sighed, before getting up. I walked toward the river and splashed some water on my face. As I splashed water on my face, I heard a sharp but sweet sound pierce the night. I wiped my face with my sleeve, and followed it.

It was only a little later that I found the source of the sound. Legolas. He was sitting on a rock that was just a little further down the river from mine, and he was playing Hotaru's flute. I was sure-no, positive-that he could hear me walking up to him. Stupid Elvish hearing. I sighed softly, as I walked up and sat on a rock next to him. I started writing out random kanji in the dirt as Legolas played. The song was sad, but it seemed to calm him. "Couldn't sleep," he asked, jolting me out of my thoughts. The instrument was next to him on the rock, and he seemed to be staring out into space.

I sighed, and shook my head. "No," I replied. "You, too?" He nodded. "This quest...it's brought on more destruction and pain than anyone could imagine."

"You sound wise for your years, Princess," Legolas said, as he turned towards me.

I smiled. "Well, you tend to see the world in a different way when you're a Sailor Soldier. Plus, being from the future and all..."

"Do you know how this will turn out," Legolas asked.

I looked away. "No," I replied. "I don't. I don't know anything about outcomes of events or things like that." Legolas looked away, and we sat in silence for a while. I later asked, "I know this is going to sound weird, but...how old is Hotaru? How old would she be if she never left?"

"About two thousand; maybe a little over," Legolas replied.

"About two THOUSAND?"

"Elves are immortal, Princess. Unless we fall in battle, we continue to live on. Of course, we have the option to relinquish our immortality, but you only get to choose once. If you forsake your immortality, you can never get it back."

"That's so weird...she looks like she's twelve, and you look like you're...well...somewhere in your twenties, I'd have to say."

"Look at it this way; as soon as you are born you grow immediately in the short time so that you look the way you do now. For Elves, when we turn 100 years old, that is the equivalent to about one year of your life."

"Oh."

We sat in silence once more. I sighed, and closed my eyes. If only I knew that was the biggest mistake I was about to make. The images of Sailor Pluto's death kept playing through my head, and Hotaru's image became clearer and clearer.

My eyes shot open, and I felt something strange coming up my system. Fast. Soon, my mouth was filled with a really bad taste, and my stomach felt like it was being jabbed with something. I got up, ran over to the river, and puked my guts out. I couldn't really hear my surroundings; I was too busy puking, and when I was done, I was sweating, shaking, hyperventilating, and it was about a minute or two before I felt someone's hand on my back. The hands later went to my forehead as they moved my hair out of my face, before moving to my back again. I felt some kind of energy of sorts flowing through my body. It felt like some kind of magic, and soon I was surrounded with the scent of freshly cut grass and different types of plants. Legolas must have been using his Elvish magic or whatever it was. Whatever it was that I was feeling earlier went away, but it was still a little hard to breathe. "Are you all right, Princess," Legolas asked.

I struggled to get my breathing under control and nodded. "I-I-" I couldn't seem to say it.

"Yes?"

"I-I-I saw Sailor Pluto's...death."


	15. A Forked Road

**A/N: My readers! It has been far too long! My stories are in relatively good places, so here it is! The long awaited chapter 15! YAY!**

**kanna-chan does not own Sailor Moon or Lord of the Rings, because she is not Naoko Takeuchi, Peter Jackson, or JRR Tolkein.**

**Language Key:**

"**Japanese**"  
"English"  
"Elvish"  
NEW: "_English telepathy_" and "Elvish telepathy" and "_**Japanese telepathy**_"

* * *

**Hotaru/Sailor Saturn POV**

We were getting closer and closer to Mordor. The presence of Sauron inside me grew stronger with every step closer we took. I couldn't figure out why, but it was obvious that Sauron needed a physical body. For what, I didn't know. We walked in silence, until we could see Mordor from a distance. Sauron's tower of Barad-dûr stood not too far from it. His presence was growing stronger, and it was making my head hurt. "There it is," Sam whispered. "Mordor. The one place in Middle-earth we don't want to see any closer, and the one place we're trying to get to."

"It's just where we can't get," I sighed. "We're lost. Face it, guys."

"I don't think Gandalf meant for us to come this way."

I turned to face Sam and grimaced. "Gandalf didn't mean for a lot of things to happen, Sam," I replied. "But they did."

Suddenly, Frodo gasped and fell to his knees. His eyes were closed. He cried out in pain, and started to hyperventilate. He quickly caught his breath, before Sam realized aloud, "It's the Ring, Mr. Frodo, isn't it?"

Frodo opened his eyes and nodded. "It's getting heavier. I just saw the Eye...the Eye of Sauron," he replied. "Don't worry about me. I'll be fine...I hope."

I sighed. I was beginning to feel hungry. "What do we have in the way of food," I asked.

"Well, let me see," Sam answered, going into his bag, and pulling out several rectangular packages wrapped in green. "Looks like some kind of bread," he said, unwrapping it. "Do you know what it is, Mr. Frodo? Lady Hotaru?"

"It's Elvish waybread," I recognized. "Lembas. One whole cake-bread-is enough for a full day's march."

"Lembas, Lembas, and-oh, wait! More Lembas," Sam sighed. He broke off pieces of Lembas bread for us to eat.

As we ate in silence, I could smell something. Whatever it was, it didn't smell good at all. It reminded me of a bog. "Something stinks," I declared. "Reminds me of a bog. And somehow...I can tell we're not alone. There's something, or someone, here with us."

"Whoever-or whatever-it is," Sam said, "I don't want to know."

* * *

It was late at night, but I couldn't sleep for a few reasons. First off, I wasn't allowed to, given that I was keeping watch. Second, that horrid stench was still around. Third, whoever it was that was making that smell so bad was really starting to get on my nerves. I sighed, but suddenly I heard something. It was a soft, but very raspy voice, that whispered, "The thieves! The thieves! The filthy little thieves! Where is it? Where isss it? My preciousssss." I could hear footsteps. They were probably the same footsteps that belonged to the voice, and they were getting closer. The voice hissed, "Curse them! We hates them! It's ours, it is...and we wants it!"

The creature, who looked awfully slimy and gross, leaped out of the shadows towards Sam and Frodo. I grabbed my glaive and held it out, but I was too late. Luckily, Frodo and Sam woke up, and tried to put up a fight. The creature saw the Ring, and tried to yank it off of Frodo's neck! Sam and Frodo tried to get the creature off, but nothing was working. I held my glaive at the creature's throat, and the weapon caught the creature's eye. That's when it hit me. I recognized him from the books that I used to read as a child-Elf. It was Gollum, the hobbit who had been consumed by the Ring's power and driven mad. "I recognize you, Gollum," I growled. "Release him," I said, gesturing to Sam with my eyes, "or I'll have your head."

Gollum slowly loosened his grip on Sam, before climbing down. We tied him up with Elvish rope, and as we did, Gollum cried out, "It burns us! It burns us! It freezes! Nasty Elves twisted it. Take it off us!"

"Shut it," I spoke sharply, hitting him over the head. Gollum continued to scream and rant and rave.

"It's hopeless," Sam sighed. "At this rate, every Orc in Mordor will hear this racket! I vote we leave him. Who's with me?" Sam raised his hand, and I held my hand up, too.

"No," Gollum cried. "That would kill us! Kill us!"

"Shut it," I repeated, hitting him again. "It's hardly more than a filthy piece of scum like you deserves." Just as I said that, though, I sighed. I could see something in his eyes. Something that looked like...pain. Internal pain. "However, now that I see him, I do pity him. Maybe he does deserve to die, but I do pity him." I looked to Frodo, and he nodded.

Gollum begged, "We be nice to them if they be nice to us. Take it off us. We swears to do what you want. We swears."

I looked back at Frodo, who had a guarded look on his face. I looked at Sam, who had a look of disdain on his. "There's no promise you can make that we can trust," I said, as I walked around to the back of Gollum.

"We swears to serve the master of the preciousss," Gollum rasped. "We swears...on the preciousss. Gollum, Gollum."

I looked at Frodo, who was trying to restrain Sam from attacking Gollum. If Gollum knew and could remember the way to Mordor from before, he could take us there easily. The question was, though, was whether Sauron would continue to try to take over me.

* * *

**Rini/Sailor Mini Moon POV**

It was the next day, and I hadn't told anyone except for Legolas about what I had seen the other night. I couldn't afford to. If I did, I'd have to spill my guts about Hotaru, and I couldn't do that. Not for her. I just hoped she was all right.

Aragorn was showing me a pretty cool Ranger skill to use as we searched for Merry and Pip. I got down an all fours and pressed my ear to the ground. "Focus, Princess," Aragorn said, as he knelt down near me. "Focus in the earth. Try to see if you can hear anything."

I did as he said, and suddenly, I heard something. Footsteps. Those of big feet. They were moving towards us. They weren't Hobbits, though. They were the Uruk-Hai. I looked up and turned to Aragorn, before saying, "Their pace...it's getting faster. They must have caught our scent. Let's go!" I got up, and started running, before I realized I was being followed by Legolas, Aragorn, and Gimli, who was struggling to keep up.

"Come on, Gimli," I shouted as I looked back, and stopped before continuing to run.

"Three days' and nights' pursuit," Gimli huffed. "No food, no rest, and sign of our quarry but what bare rock can tell."

We continued to run, periodically looking back to make sure Gimli was keeping up, before I noticed something shiny. I stopped, and picked it up. It looked like some kind of brooch. Legolas and Aragorn stopped behind me, and I showed it to them. "It's an Elven brooch," Aragorn explained, before looking up at the trees. "Not idly do the leaves of Lorien fall."

"There's still hope that they're alive," I exclaimed. "Let's go!"

We continued to run, until we reached a cliff overlooking what looked like a grassland with walls. There was a city there, and I couldn't really see much, but the city was heavily barricaded. "That's Rohan, Princess," Aragorn explained. I looked up at him, and he added, "Home of the horse-lords." He suddenly jolted, as if he felt something, and suddenly, I felt it too. Some kind of dark presence. "There's something strange at work here. Some evil is giving speed to these creatures, sets its will against us." Legolas ran up to the edge of the cliff and looked over it. "Legolas," Aragorn called, "What do your Elf eyes see?"

At first, I thought that Aragorn was crazy, but then I remembered that Elves had heightened senses of sight and hearing. Legolas looked over the cliff for about a minute, before shouting, "The Uruks turn northeast." He looked further, before turning around, his eyes wide in shock. "They're taking the Hobbits to Isengard!"

"Saruman," Aragorn and I realized aloud.

We continued to run in silence, and I heard Gimli muttering to himself, "Keep breathing! That's the key! Breathe! Ho!"

We ran across vast distances after the Uruks, and as we ran, Legolas said, "They've run as if the very whips of their masters were behind them."

"Well, what do you expect," I asked. "The Uruks are advanced breeds of Orcs, after all. The Orcs were Elves once, and they became Uruks by being tortured til they died and were mutilated. I would easily expect them to run like that. They probably remember Sauron whipping them like that."

Legolas ran on in silence, and I wasn't sure if what I had said offended him or not. We eventually got halfway to Rohan, before deciding to set up camp for the night. The sun was beginning to set, and we set up camp on the grassy area. I set up where I was going to sleep near a rock. I didn't really pay attention as to what anyone else was doing. I looked around in someone's pack after I set up to look for food. Unfortunately, all we had was some weird kind of bread, and what looked like a dead lizard. I sighed, as I broke off a piece of the weird bread and ate it. It tasted really weird, but good. It reminded me of Lita's cooking, and made me feel a little homesick. I missed the other Sailor Scouts; not to mention Tuxedo Mask, Luna, Diane, Artemis, and Luna-P.

I walked back to where I set up my sleeping area, and was quickly stopped by Legolas. "Who told you about the Uruk-Hai," he asked, a strange look in his eyes as he looked down at me. It looked almost...angry.

I looked right back at him, and for the first time, was actually afraid. I couldn't afford to tell him that Hotaru told me. However, if I hesitated too long, Legolas would be able to tell I was lying. I couldn't afford that. Then again, I could say that Hotaru overheard Gandalf talking about it or something. So I blurted, "Hotaru told me. She heard Gandalf talking about it or something. Why?"

"You're hiding something," he replied, continuing to press on.

"And if I am," I countered.

He sighed. "Remember something you said to me a while back? Back when my sister was still with us?"

"I said a lot of things to you. Most of them insulting you, because, quite frankly, you deserved it. You're going to have to be more specific."

"You said that while Claeva may have trusted me at the time, you didn't. Well, Princess, allow me to put that into terms that apply to the current situation." He leaned down and whispered into my ear so only I could hear, "While Aragorn and the Dwarf may seem to trust you, I don't." And with that, he straightened up, and walked off.

I sighed. Legolas sure was hard to figure out. I wished Hotaru was here, mainly because Legolas and Aragorn had started conversing in Elvish, and I could use a translator. "The Elf driving you crazy, too," Gimli asked, walking up to me.

I sighed. "You have no idea, Gimli," I replied. I looked over to where Legolas and Aragorn were talking, before turning to Gimli and asking, "How much longer til we get to Rohan?"

"I'm not sure. Probably about a day."

"Wonderful. I have to put up with Mr. I'm-all-that-because-I'm-your-best-friend's-sister-and-and-an-elf-princeling for another day."

"You don't sound pleased about that, lass."

"Gee, what gave me away," I asked sarcastically.

"Well, from where I stand, Princess, you have the strength of the Dwarves, but the heart of a Princess. Whatever he's doing, you'll get through it."

"I hope you're right. It's just that I have so much to deal with, between this, trying to figure out how to get back home, how to deal with Hotaru being taken over by Sauron-" I cut myself off. I was so mad, I hadn't even thought about what I was saying, and I broke my promise to Hotaru!

"She's WHAT," Gimli shouted, followed by Aragorn and Legolas running over.

"What did she tell you, Dwarf," Legolas shouted at Gimli.

"The older lass is being-"

"Shut it, Gimli," I shouted, tears of anger and sadness starting to stream down my face. "I have to be the one to tell him." I turned to face Legolas. "You're right. I was hiding something. No more secrets after this. Promise."

"How do we know that we can trust you," Legolas asked.

"Because what I'm about to tell you is extremely important. Hotaru is in danger. She's...she's being taken over by Sauron," I struggled to get out. After I said it, I sighed. "She made me swear not to tell any of you. She knew you'd freak out like this. Especially _you_," I sneered at Legolas, who appeared to be breaking down from the inside out. "So, sorry that I kept a promise to a friend. You can rest assured, it's the last time I'll do that." I started to walk away, before saying, "Oh, and I understood what you said about me, by the way. See, Hotaru managed to teach me a few words and sentences in Elvish. Here's a piece of advice for you: next time you try to have a conversation where you talk about someone as 'excess baggage,' do it when the person in question can't hear." And with that, I walked off.

* * *

**Still Rini/Sailor Mini Moon POV**

Night had fallen on the land, and camp was set up in silence. Aragorn and Gimli were asleep. Legolas was doing...well, I didn't really give a darn what he was doing. As far as I was concerned, he could be talking with some tree-pal of his. Okay, so maybe the elves of Mirkwood or whatever didn't have tree-pals. Anyway, he was just walking around the trees, not really paying much attention to anything. I was stuck on watch-duty, and you'll never guess who had to take over for me after a few hours. Legolas. That was just fan-tucking-fastic.

I sighed. I walked away a little bit, and just started practicing random martial arts techniques. I swept at the ground, and feigned a kick, before doing a bear claw. I continued with a few more combinations like this, before I felt someone grab my wrist. I kicked their wrist, forcing whoever it was to let go. Turns out, it was Legolas. "Your reflexes are fast, Princess," he said. "Your guard, on the other hand, leaves something to be desired."

He tried to sweep me, but I saw it coming, and I jumped, before jumping up and doing a palm heel strike to his chin. I asked, "As our dear friend, Gimli, would say, 'What the bloody hell do you want?'" He recovered from the blow, before trying a strike to my solar plexus. I blocked it and caught it. "Too slow," I smirked, before bending his wrist around so I had full control of his arm. I forced his arm down a bit, and pressed my knee into his elbow; performing a joint lock.

Legolas struggled for a little bit, before sighing. He relaxed. He replied, "Before I answer, could you at least let me go? I'm starting to feel something in my head; not to mention hearing the blood rush in my ears."

"Promise not to try anything funny? No tricks," I asked. He nodded. I released the hold, and he got up.

"Impressive, Princess," he smiled. He took a deep breath, before he sat down. He rubbed his arm where I performed the joint lock.

"Are you okay? I didn't go too hard or anything, did I?"

Legolas shook his head. "No, you didn't. I'm more surprised if anything. For someone so small, you have a lot of strength. Perhaps more than the dwarf."

"I have a feeling that's not what you want to talk about, though, is it?"

Again, Legolas shook his head, and I sat down next to him. "I said too much. As per usual, I guess. Still, I have to know."

"Know what?"

"Why my sister trusted you with that kind of information. Why she told you and not me that she was being taken over by Sauron."

"She's doing her best to fight it off, if it makes you feel any better." I sighed. "I don't know how to answer that, let alone if I should. I have a theory, however." He turned his head to face me, and I said, "It's probably because I knew her longer. Remember, her memories of you and everyone in this world were erased, so technically, in her mind, I knew her longer, because she was in my world longer than she was in yours."

"That makes some sense," Legolas sighed. "I still don't like it, though."

"You have no one to blame but yourself for that. You're the one who had her memories erased."

"That doesn't mean I have to like why she told you and not me."

"I know." I sighed, as I lay back on the ground. "If it makes you feel any better, she really is doing her best to fight it off."

"I know, Princess," Legolas sighed, as he stared up at the sky. He took out the flute and fiddled with it in his hands.

"She's strong, you have to remember that," I said, as I sat up. "I understand why you're worried, though. As Sailor Saturn..." I shuddered, as the memories of her first awakening as Sailor Saturn returned, along with out battles against Pharaoh 90 and Mistress 9. "She was strong. Her power was beyond compare. Still is. She's the Sailor Soldier of Death and Rebirth. Have faith in her, Legolas. She's grown up."

Legolas sighed, and silent tears began to roll down his cheeks. "You're right. You're wise for your years, Princess."

I smiled. "What can I say? I learned from the best." I stood up, and was about to walk away, before I turned around, to find that Legolas wasn't following me. "You coming? Dawn is in a few hours."

He shook his head. "I'll stand guard for the rest of the night. Get some sleep, Princess."

"Friends again?"

He smiled. "Friends."

* * *

**Hotaru/Sailor Saturn POV**

"See, see, we have led you out! Hurry, hobbitses and elf princess, hurry! Very lucky we find you," Gollum exclaimed. That creature was really starting to get on my nerves. The least it could do was use proper English, or as close to it as it could get. Gollum jumped on a rock, and Frodo and I followed him. As soon as Sam started to come up from behind, though, Gollum shrunk in fear. "Nice hobbit," Gollum stammered.

Sam's foot suddenly slipped into the muck below. "Whoa," he exclaimed. "That's a bog! He's led us into a bog!"

"A swamp, yes, yes. Come masters and mistress. Come! We will take you on safe paths through the mist. Come hobbits and elf princess, come! We go quickly," Gollum explained.

I sighed. I didn't trust Gollum. According to the stories, the Ring corrupted him so much, it destroyed him mentally. So, in short, we were pretty much following a mad, inhuman creature who probably didn't have any idea where he was going or what he was doing. That was just fan-tucking-fastic.

Suddenly, we came to a marsh. This wasn't a normal marsh, though. Not because of the way it smelled and looked, but because of the darkness you could feel around it. I also felt a weirdly familiar presence, too. I sighed, as Gollum exclaimed, "I found it, I did! The way through the marshes. Orcs don't use it. Orcs don't know. They go round for miles and miles. Come quickly. Swift and quick as shadows we must be."

We must have been walking for miles. I seriously wished they had painkillers that weren't herbs in Middle Earth...preferably Advil. My legs were killing me, and so was my head. I sighed as we kept walking. We gingerly picked our way through the marshes, when Frodo, Sam, and I gasped all at the same time. There were faces in the water! They were still, rotting, and pale. Flames were flickering on the swamp. "Th-th-there's dead things," I cried. "In the water!"

"All dead," Gollum hissed. "All rotten. Elves and men and orcses. A great battle long ago."

Gollum stopped and turned to face us. "These are the Dead Marshes, aren't they," I asked.

Gollum smiled a sick smile, before turning back around and explaining, "Yes, yes, that is their name. This way. Don't follow the lights."

I did as Gollum said, and continued to walk. Frodo, Sam, Gollum, and I walked in silence, until I saw one particular face in the water. It was a man clad in Elvish armor, with long blonde hair. I stopped walking, and turned to get a good look at the face. I gasped. The face looked just like Legolas's. I knew it wasn't Legolas, though. The face looked older, and the hair was longer, too. It was our father, Thranduil. I felt silent tears stream down my face, as I whispered, "Father." Suddenly, the face's eyes opened, and I suddenly fell face-first into the water.

I couldn't breathe in the water. I could see various hands of the bodies in the water grabbing at me from all directions. I couldn't breathe, and I thought I was going to die. My last thought was, "How come Elves don't have gills?"

Suddenly, I was grabbed from behind, and came up from the water, coughing and sputtering. I looked to see who got me out, and saw that it was Gollum. I was so surprised. "Don't follow the lights," he yelled, before running off.

"Can you get up, Miss Hotaru," Sam asked.

"I think so," I replied, trying to stand up. "Let's keep going. Don't follow the lights." Frodo and Sam nodded, and we ran after Gollum.


	16. Battle On

**A/N: My readers! It has been far too long, and I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO sorry for that! Words can't even begin to talk about how sorry I am. I've missed this story! School and stuff has been keeping me busy, along with my other stories, but I'm back!**

**In honor of "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" coming to theaters soon, I have decided to try my hand at Elvish. Please forgive me if anything isn't 100%. Elvish is hard (plus I'm already learning Spanish and Japanese). Anyway, English translations of the Elvish will be at the bottom of the chapter, in addition to the links I used.**

**One more thing! I know most of us are missing Merry and Pip; I know I am! So no worries! They should come back...soon...if my muse hasn't decided to kill them off. Nah, I can't do that. They're too awesome to die! XD**

**One final thing, then I'm shutting up: after the one Hotaru/Sailor Saturn POV in this chapter, the rest of the story will be told from Rini/Sailor Mini Moon POV until the last chapter (or second to last).**

**kanna-chan does not own Sailor Moon or Lord of the Rings, because she is not Naoko Takeuchi, Peter Jackson, or JRR Tolkein.**

**Language Key:**

"**Japanese**"  
"English"  
"_Elvish_"

* * *

**Rini/Sailor Mini Moon POV**

We were in this really dark and really creepy forest. What did Aragorn call it again? Fangorn Forest? It was so dark and creepy, and I am not afraid of the dark. I really wished that they had flashlights in Middle Earth. I would have even been happy with a torch, but did I get to be picky about it? No. That just sucked.

As we all walked through the forest in silence, Gimli stopped to pick up a leaf that had a dark stain on it. He put it to his mouth, and spat on the ground. "Orc blood," he grimaced, wiping his mouth.

"Gross," I agreed. I looked down, seeing some very strange looking tracks. "What the..."

"Something wrong, Princess," Aragorn asked.

I nodded. "Look at these tracks. They look really weird. They look like lines or something," I explained. The temperature started to drop, and shivered. "It's cold."

"This forest is old," Legolas muttered, looking around. "Very old. Full of memory and...anger."

"Anger," I asked, looking up at him. That's when I heard it. Groans were reverberating through the forest. I quickly put my hand on the hilt of my sword. Gimli raised his ax. "Where are those groans coming from?"

"The trees," Legolas explained. "They're speaking to each other."

"Gimli," Aragorn whispered sharply.

"Huh," Gimli jolted.

"Lower your ax."

"Oh."

"Aragorn, _nad nâ ennas_," Legolas whispered.

I had no idea what he said, but I turned to Aragorn, as he asked, "_Man cenich?_"

"Does no one speak normal English anymore," I muttered.

Legolas looked ahead, and I did, too. I didn't need the eyesight that the Elves had to see what was coming. There was a big white light. "The White Wizard approaches," Legolas gasped. His gasp of shock quickly changed to anger, as he growled, "Do not let him speak. If he is trying to take over my sister, there is no doubt that he will put a spell on us to-" he trailed off, and we all got what he meant. He notched an arrow, and all of us got our weapons ready. I exchanged a look with the others, as we quickly attacked the light. All of our attacks were deflected, though.

The light spoke, "You are tracking the footsteps of two young hobbits."

"Where are they," I shouted. "What do you know?"

"I know that they passed this way the day before yesterday. I know they met someone that they did not expect. Does that help," the light asked.

"I'm talking to a big ball of light. Clearly there's something wrong," I muttered. "Show yourself! Tell us who you are!"

The light slowly began to dim, revealing something extremely shocking.

It was Gandalf.

No way. No freaking way. He was dead! I saw him die. We all saw him die! I just stared, before I dropped to my knees, as Gimli, Legolas, and Aragorn all bowed. "You fell," I breathed. "We saw you die!"

"I fell," Gandalf explained. "Through fire and water." And he continued to explain that he fought the Balrod...balrog...thing, until he collapsed on icy mountains. Life, apparently, had been returned to him, but through a way that really didn't make much sense. "I've been sent back until my task is complete."

"Gandalf," Aragorn gasped.

"Gandalf," the man in question pondered. "Yes...that's what they used to call me. Gandalf the Grey. That was my name." He smiled, before adding, "I am Gandalf the White." It was then that I noticed that nearly all of Gandalf had changed. His hair was white, and so were his robes! Aragorn grinned. "I come back to you now at the turn of the tide. Princess," Gandalf said, walking up to me and bending down, "you have done well." He walked up to Legolas, as he said something in Elvish that I really didn't understand. Legolas didn't say anything back, as he looked at the ground. I assumed it was something about Hotaru. Gandalf quickly put a grey cloak over his white robes, as we walked on.

"We will need to get to Edoras with great speed," Aragorn said.

Gandalf said nothing, as he put two fingers in his mouth and gave a loud, piercing whistle. I jumped in surprise, before I saw a shape in the distance. As it got closer, I could make out a big white horse. An answering neigh was heard, as Legolas said, "That is one of the Mearas, unless my eyes are cheated by some spell."

"Mea...what," I asked. "What are you talking about?"

"The Mearas are a breed of wild horses in the north of Middle Earth," Legolas explained, staring at the approaching horse.

Gimli bowed, as Gandalf spoke, "Shadowfax. The lord of all horses, and a friend of mine through many dangers." Shadowfax stopped as he came up to Gandalf. Gandalf mounted Shadowfax, and motioned to me to get on. I looked up at the horse. It was really big. I mean really, _really_ big. Aragorn walked over, and picked me up, and put me on top of the horse. With that, we were off to Edoras. Wherever the heck that was.

* * *

**Hotaru/Sailor Saturn POV**

Sauron's presence inside me grew stronger, and I had a harder time fighting it off as Gollum, Sam, Frodo, and I climbed a high rock overlooking the Black Gate. "The Black Gate of Mordor," Gollum hissed. I recognized it right off from the books I read as an Elf. Three sides of Mordor were bound by mountain ranges, and they were arranged in a large rectangle. Ephel Lithui was what it translated as in the north, and in Sindarin, the word Mordor actually meant _Black Land_. "Masters and Miss say to show them the way into Mordor, so Sméagol does. Master says so."

"I did," Frodo whispered.

I looked ahead. There were at least ten thousand Orcs patrolling the Black Gate. I really wished that those books had actually mentioned how to get through, given that there wasn't an entrance we could sneak through. An Orc horn sounded, and a command in the language of the Orcs was given. The Orcs started to clear away, but just as Sam saw a path, the rock underneath him gave way. "Sam," Frodo and I shouted. I quickly reached a hand out for Sam, and he grabbed onto it with a free hand. "Fro...do," I grunted. "Help...me...pull...him...up." We pulled as hard as we could, and Sam finally came back up. We all gasped for breath, as Frodo threw an Elven cloak over himself and Sam. The soldiers came directly in front of us, as Frodo whispered, "I didn't ask you to come with me, Sam."

"These cloaks aren't going to do us much good," I sighed. "Elvish magic only works for so long. I say we make a run for it." I stood up, and was about to start running, when I felt someone pulling on my arm. I turned to see Gollum.

"No, Miss," Gollum cried, "They catch you!"

Sauron's presence pulsed within me, and I struggled to fight it off, but it was no use. I lost control, and the darkness took over. I-or was it Sauron-hissed, "The precioussss...it's mine!"

I wasn't really sure what happened next. I couldn't feel any kind of control over my body, but I could tell I was in motion, and heading to the Black Gate.

* * *

**Rini/Sailor Mini Moon POV**

"Be careful what you say here," Gandalf cautioned us, as we rode into Edoras. "Do not look for welcome."

"And how is that different from nearly half of the other places that we've been," I muttered, asking myself. "You'll find more cheer in a cemetery. I'm really not getting my hopes up for a warm welcome."

One of the guards came up to us, and he spoke to Gandalf, "I cannot allow you before Théoden-King so armed, Gandalf Greyhame. By order of Gríma Wormtongue."

"Who the heck...never mind," I sighed. All these bizarre names were really giving me a headache. Gandalf motioned for the rest of us to surrender our weapons, which we did, reluctantly.

"Your staff," the guard spoke, pointing to Gandalf's staff.

"Oh?" Gandalf looked at his staff, before innocently saying, "You would not part an old man from his walking stick, would you?"

The guard sighed, as he gestured for us to follow him into the hall. Legolas, Aragorn, Gimli, and I stayed back, as we observed our surroundings. It was a really big hall, and an old, sick, and frail looking man sat on a throne, a man whose face looked like a toad's. I tapped Legolas, who quickly bent down to my level for me to whisper, "Who is that?"

"King Théoden," Legolas replied. "The king of Rohan. And the man next to him is Gríma Wormtongue, the chief adviser to King Théoden."

I nodded, and that guy, Gríma, turned to glare at us. I raised an eyebrow, as King Théoden asked, "Why should I welcome you, Gandalf Stormcrow?"

"Sheesh, how many names does he have," I muttered.

"A just question, my liege," Gríma said, walking towards Gandalf. Late is the hour in which this conjurer chooses to appear. Lathspell spell I name him. Ill news is an ill guest." Something was really starting to irk me about that Gríma guy. There was some kind of dark aura about him. His eyes were dark; darker than the average person's.

"Shut it," I shouted. The dark aura intensified, and my suspicions were confirmed. He was working for Saruman. "You can trust Gandalf; stop lying to the king!"

"You _dare_ call me a liar, wench," Gríma hissed. "Little girl, you have sealed your fate and that of your companions." A fist fight between Legolas, Gimli, Aragorn, and the guards quickly ensued as I ran up to Gandalf who raised his staff.

Gríma said something incomprehensible as Gandalf spoke, "Theoden, son of Thengel, too long have you sat in the shadows. Hearken to me! I release you from this spell!"

The king threw back his head and laughed a mirthless laugh in a voice that I had to assume wasn't his. "You have no power here, Gandalf the Grey," the king shouted.

I gasped. Gríma was indeed the cause of what was happening here in Rohan, but what was the overall catalyst? Was it Saruman? Was he possessing the king the way Sauron was trying to possess Hotaru? "Leave him alone; he has nothing to do with this," I shouted.

Gandalf threw back his grey cloak, revealing a blinding white light that we all had to shield our eyes from. When the light faded, the king was up against the wall. Gandalf pointed his staff at the king, as he said, "I will draw you, Saruman, as poison is drawn from a wound." A young woman with long, pretty blonde hair rushed in. Seeing the king threatened, she tried to run to him, but was held back by Aragorn.

"If I go...the king dies," the king whispered in Saruman's voice.

"You did not kill me," Gandalf shouted. "You will not kill him! Be gone!"

The king was thrown back against a chair. He let out a moan as he fell unconscious, and the dark presence faded. I sighed. The guards stopped fighting the others. It was peaceful. Somewhat peaceful. The woman ran to the king, who slowly opened his eyes, recognition clear on his face. "I...I know your face," the king whispered in his normal voice. "Éowyn." The woman wept with joy at her recognition, and threw her arms around the king. I turned to Gandalf and raised an eyebrow. "Gandalf," the king asked, looking at Gandalf.

"Breathe the free air again, my friend," Gandalf said, smiling.

"My lord," Gríma cried. "I've only ever served you!"

I punched Grima across the face and then kicked him in the stomach. He fell down, and I smirked. "You're filled with nothing but lies," I sneered. "Go spread them somewhere else."

The king looked around, before noticing something. "Where is he," the king asked. "Where is my son?"

"He has a son," I asked Gimli, who walked up to me.

"Théodred," Gimli replied, nodding. Gimli turned to face the king, and said, "My liege, your son...he's..."

* * *

After the funeral of the king's son, we were apparently supposed to go to some refuge or whatever called 'Helm's Deep.' I had no idea whatsoever as to what that was; let alone how we were going to get there. All the people of Rohan packed light, as did the rest of the Fellowship and I, and off we went to Helm's Deep. Gandalf stayed behind. I wasn't really sure why, but he asked us to look for him to the East after five days.

I sat on a big white horse, and I couldn't help but overhear Gimli saying to Éowyn, "It's true you don't see many Dwarf women. And in fact, they are so alike in voice and appearance, that they're often mistaken for Dwarf men."

I gave Legolas a weird look as he pulled the reins of my horse. "Is he _flirting_ with her," I asked, disgust evident in my voice.

Legolas simply shrugged his shoulders, as we rode and walked on in silence. Unfortunately, the silence didn't last long, because my horse must have sensed something. It quickly reared back and sent me tumbling to the ground. I rubbed my head as I sat up on the ground. "Ow..." I said. I quickly looked around. The other horses were getting restless, too. "What's going on?"

That's when this really weird thing that looked like a cross between a bear, a wolf, and a hedgehog came out charging at us. One of the warriors of Rohan quickly killed it, before shouting, "Wargs!"

Wargs? What were Wargs? They didn't look all too friendly, and I had a really bad feeling about them. I took out my sword and quickly began to fight them. They were easy...almost too easy. "Something's not right," I muttered to myself, as I killed another one.

"What is it, Princess," Legolas shouted over the roar of the people of Rohan.

"This is too easy! I think...are these scouts?"

"Scouts, Princess," Gimli asked, cutting one clean in two with his ax.

"Like...what if they were sent here..."

"To buy time," Legolas realized, his eyes widening.

More and more of those foul things came, as the king ordered Éowyn, who protested, to lead the villagers of Rohan to Helm's Deep. So Éowyn was a fighter. I admired that.

The fight continued on for...darn, I don't even know or care how long. I could barely pay attention to anything that was going on with the others. Wargs and orgs and a bunch of other ugly things kept attacking left and right, until the last few wargs were finished off, and the others ran off. I sighed, as I wiped sweat from my forehead. I looked around. Aragorn was nowhere in sight. "Aragorn," I shouted. I turned to Gimli and Legolas, who were also looking for him. I looked over to see what looked like an Orc captain dying on the ground, laughing. The three of us ran over to him, and Gimli bared his ax.

"Tell me what happened," Gimli growled, standing over the Orc, "and I will ease your passing." I held my sword at the thing's throat.

The Orc captain laughed, "He's-" he coughed, "dead." He laughed evilly, before adding, "Took a little tumble off the cliff."

I grabbed the Orc captain's bloody lapel, lifted him up by it with surprising strength, and shouted, "Liar!" The captain chortled and died. I dropped him to the ground, as Legolas ran to the edge of the cliff, before running back to Gimli and I, a woeful expression on his face.

"There is no sign of a body, Princess," Legolas sighed. "The water must have washed him away."

"There's hope, isn't there," I asked.

"It was a big fall, Princess. I am sorry."

I sighed. I couldn't afford to grieve yet. We were still out in the open. We weren't safe. "Come, Princess," the king of Rohan said, gently pulling me away. "Men, get the wounded on horses. Leave the dead, for the wolves of Isengard shall return."

The king was right. That didn't mean I had to like that he was right. Everyone mounted a horse or walked, and we continued on to Helm's Deep-without Aragorn.

* * *

"So few," Eowyn gasped, as she looked at our arrival. "So few of you have returned."

The king dismounted, as he replied, "Our people are safe. We have paid for it with many lives."

I dismounted also, although it was hard, considering the size of my horse. It was even bigger than the one I rode on the way to Rohan. I landed on the ground, hard. Gimli walked up to Eowyn and explained what happened to Aragorn. I sighed, before going to sit down on a small bale of hay. "Draw all of our forces behind the wall," the king ordered. "Bar the gate, set a watch on the surround."

"What of those who cannot fight, my liege," one of the guards asked. "The women and children."

"Get them into the caves," the king ordered.

"I wish to fight," I shouted, as some of the women and children were already making their way to the caves.

"No," the king barked. "It's too dangerous, and you're too young."

"I'm the princess of the thirtieth century moon kingdom!"

"That hardly matters; you're far too young, and you're a girl."

"I refuse to let her fight," an unexpected voice said, that I wasn't expecting to hear. I turned, and saw a horse, and riding on the horse was...Aragorn!

"He's alive," the refugees shouted.

"_Le abdollen_," Legolas commented. Aragorn sighed.

"I'm not letting her fight; she's too young."

"With the princess on the battlefield, we would have an advantage. She is strong, and her size could easily give her an advantage," Legolas countered.

"Please," I begged.

"No, Princess," Aragorn replied. "I cannot allow you to be out on the battlefield."

"Aragorn," Legolas spoke. "_Amin sinta thaliolle he dagor._" I had no idea what he said, but I really hoped that he was on my side with this.

"Does no one speak English anymore," I muttered.

"_T__e linduva n'mahta, _Legolas. _T__e naa dithen_," Aragorn said.

"What on earth are you people saying," I shouted. Everyone turned to look. "Oops...sorry."

"Princess, you can't fight in this battle. You're too young, and you're still a child," Aragorn gently explained.

"I can hold my own in battle, you know that," I shouted. "Or have our past battles meant nothing?" I stormed off.

* * *

I sighed, as I somehow found myself in the stables of Helm's Deep. I wasn't really paying much attention as to where I was going, so I really didn't know how I wound up in the stables, but I wasn't complaining. The horses were good company. I pulled up two bales of hay, and stood on one, before picking up a handful of hay from the other and feeding it to a large black horse, who neighed, before blowing in my face. I kinda just started babbling away to the horse, as I told him what happened. It felt good to vent.

I sighed, as I jumped off of the bale and started to look for a curry comb in the stables. It was highly doubtful I'd find one, though. "Looking for something," Gimli asked, standing in the doorway. I jumped in surprise, but I knew that someone would be looking for me.

"Gimli," I sighed. "What are you doing here?"

"Same thing I am," Legolas replied, jumping down from the second level of the stables. "Looking for you."

"Don't you know it's rude to stare," I asked.

"Aragorn wants to see you."

"Well, I don't want to see him. He can kiss an Orc for all I care."

"Princess," Legolas sighed. "You have to understand that-"

"I can hold my own in battle; he knows that! You know that!"

"I do, that's why I was trying to get him to let you fight."

My eyes widened. "Really?"

Legolas nodded, and Gimli said, "We need every man we can have."

"Um...Gimli, I don't know if you've noticed, but I'm a girl," I said awkwardly.

"Warrior," Legolas corrected. "You are part of this Fellowship, and you are very good with a sword. You are strong. Now let us go to see Aragorn."

* * *

It wasn't long before we found Aragorn in the main area talking to the king. Legolas called him over, and I exchanged some small talk with Aragorn, and my apology, which Aragorn accepted, and decided to let me fight in the end. "I won't let you down," I said, as I looked him square in the eye.

The women and children were moving into the caves, and they all looked terrified beyond belief. I actually was scared, and I couldn't help but ask myself what I had gotten myself into. I sighed, as I paced around, looking around at the people who were also staying to fight. They looked so scared, and no one was a real soldier, except for a few people. I paced back to Legolas and Aragorn, who had suddenly started arguing, and Aragorn said, "Farmers, ferriers, stable boys...no real soldiers."

"Most have seen too many winters," Gimli commented.

"Or too few," I added. "They all look so scared." Legolas looked at me. "You wouldn't have to be an elf to see how frightened they look."

"_Boe a hûn: neled herain...dan caer menig_," Legolas exclaimed. I raised an eyebrow. Here we go with the Elvish communication again. Why didn't Hotaru teach me more about Elvish conversation?

Aragorn sighed, before replying, "_Si beriathar hýn. Amar nâ ned Edoras._" Really? Did NO ONE speak English anymore? Heck, I would have been happy enough to find someone speaking Japanese!

"Aragorn, _men i ndagor. Hýn ú-... ortheri. Natha daged aen_," Legolas shouted, anger evident on his face and in his eyes.

"Then I shall die as one of them," Aragorn shouted back, causing the other people to stare. While I was finally happy about Aragorn using English for once, things didn't seem to be going well. Aragorn stormed off, and Legolas and I made to go after him.

Gimli grabbed onto us and shook his head. "Let him go," he said. "Let him be."

Legolas sighed, before walking away. He started mumbling away in Elvish until I couldn't hear him or see him. I sighed, before going to sit down on a stone block. "Well, this is just great," I sighed.

"What will you do, lass," Gimli asked.

"Not sure," I replied. "Aragorn needs to be left alone, but I don't know what Legolas's problem is."

"The bloody elf-I mean, the elf has a lot-"

"I don't want to hear that, Gimli. There's something strange going on. This army that's coming...I have a really, really, really bad feeling about it." I got up from the stone block, and went back to the stables.

* * *

**Elvish translations:**

Aragorn, _nad nâ ennas_-Aragorn, something is out there

_Man cenich?-_What is it

_Le abdollen-_You're late

_Amin sinta thaliolle he dagor-_I know her strength in battle

_Re linduva n'mahta-_she is too young

_R__e naa dithen-_she cannot fight

_Boe a hûn: neled herain...dan caer menig-_and they should be. three hundred...against ten thousand

_Si beriathar hýn. Amar nâ ned Edoras.-_They have more hope of defending themselves here than at Edoras

_Aragorn, men i ndagor. Hýn ú-... ortheri. Natha daged aen!_-Aragorn, they cannot win this fight. They are all going to die!

**A/N: like I said, some of these aren't 100% accurate, so if you have an absolutely accurate English/Sindarin translator, please let me know.**


End file.
